UK visitor visa

[Here It Is]

1 hour ago, trigpoint said:

Talking to friend here, manager of a hotel in Jomtien and other properties, lived and worked in Phnom Penh for a good few years, said he wasn't surprised at all about the refusal as she is Cambodian. He said you have to be well off, own a property, have a very good job and family in Cambodia, otherwise a visa will not be issued. Has known many cambodians apply and fail due to not having these assets.

I suspect as soon as the application is lodged the first thing they see is nationality, that raises a red flag to start and the application is refused. I,m guessing that a lot of Cambodian people who get visa,s to UK don't ever return, they will have all the data about that, hence the refusal.

Sorry but that's complete and utter nonsense.  

 

I recall speaking to a guy in Patts once who 'reliably' informed me that if my wife stayed out of the UK for too long then she will be refused her British passport renewal next time it came to expiry.  I wasn't arguing as he was obviously so well up on the subject.  

[trigpoint]

7 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Maybe. But if a solid reason to return is given and the trip is demonstrably affordable, the nationality should not matter. As I stated earlier, my girlfriend is Laotian and she was able to get a visa. I can't believe that Cambodians are treated differently to Laotians!

If you read the previous posts we met all the required questions and financial affordability  in the application.

[brewsterbudgen]

If you read the previous posts we met all the required questions and financial affordability  in the application.

I've read all the posts. You think you met all the criteria but as the rejection notice showed, the ECO disagreed. Maybe they made an error but it's nothing to do with the fact that she is Cambodian.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Donutz]

22 hours ago, trigpoint said:

Talking to friend here, manager of a hotel in Jomtien and other properties, lived and worked in Phnom Penh for a good few years, said he wasn't surprised at all about the refusal as she is Cambodian. He said you have to be well off, own a property, have a very good job and family in Cambodia, otherwise a visa will not be issued. Has known many cambodians apply and fail due to not having these assets.

I suspect as soon as the application is lodged the first thing they see is nationality, that raises a red flag to start and the application is refused. I,m guessing that a lot of Cambodian people who get visa,s to UK don't ever return, they will have all the data about that, hence the refusal.

More or less guaranteed refusal based on nationality, really?

 

Let's see the statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/passenger-arrivals-and-visitors

--> Visas vol. 1: tables vi 01 q to vi 05 q

 

Nationality: Cambodian.

Q#year - refusal %

2011 Q1	21%
2011 Q2	11%
2011 Q3	22%
2011 Q4	24%
2012 Q1	15%
2012 Q2	11%
2012 Q3	19%
2012 Q4	24%
2013 Q1	13%
2013 Q2	8%
2013 Q3	25%
2013 Q4	14%
2014 Q1	17%
2014 Q2	17%
2014 Q3	13%
2014 Q4	22%
2015 Q1	28%
2015 Q2	15%
2015 Q3	17%
2015 Q4	20%
2016 Q1	23%
2016 Q2	18%
2016 Q3	13%
2016 Q4	15%

 

AFAIK the above is not just standard visitor visas but also some other temp. visa categories. Doesn't seem to be a list of refusal rate data available for just tourists / visitings friends for a holiday but even so it gives a good indication. 15-20% refused. That is higher than for Thai it's like Cambodians can pretty much forget about getting a visa.

 

If any person knows if there are stats for just Thai/Cambodians etc. visiting friends, family, tourism I'd like to know. 

Edited June 14, 2017 by Donutz

[trigpoint]

46 minutes ago, Donutz said:

More or less guaranteed refusal based on nationality, really?

 

Let's see the statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/passenger-arrivals-and-visitors

--> Visas vol. 1: tables vi 01 q to vi 05 q

 

Nationality: Cambodian.

Q#year - refusal %

2011 Q1	21%
2011 Q2	11%
2011 Q3	22%
2011 Q4	24%
2012 Q1	15%
2012 Q2	11%
2012 Q3	19%
2012 Q4	24%
2013 Q1	13%
2013 Q2	8%
2013 Q3	25%
2013 Q4	14%
2014 Q1	17%
2014 Q2	17%
2014 Q3	13%
2014 Q4	22%
2015 Q1	28%
2015 Q2	15%
2015 Q3	17%
2015 Q4	20%
2016 Q1	23%
2016 Q2	18%
2016 Q3	13%
2016 Q4	15%

 

AFAIK the above is not just standard visitor visas but also some other temp. visa categories. Doesn't seem to be a list of refusal rate data available for just tourists / visitings friends for a holiday but even so it gives a good indication. 15-20% refused. That is higher than for Thai it's like Cambodians can pretty much forget about getting a visa.

 

If any person knows if there are stats for just Thai/Cambodians etc. visiting friends, family, tourism I'd like to know. 

You have to take into account she has no assets, no children,  house, land, job etc, only asset was about $ 800 in a Cambodian bank which was also overlooked.

I did read somewhere that 95% of visa applications processed by  the UK embassy in Bangkok were granted.

[Donutz]

Obviously lack of 'objective reasons to return'  (things that tie you to your country of residence or birth) will decrease your chanches of getting a visa though even then it is not an instant guarantee for refusal as other positive factors might be in play (positive travel history to other countries for instance). It's about the balance of probabilities of these factors tipping in your favour or not. 

 

If the comments from Schengen ECOs that I spoke with are anything like for the UK: you must keep inn mind that refusals are not only over the balance of probability tipping one way or the other but also poor applications that miss certain evidence and ofcourse errors can be made by the officer. And don't forget visa-shopping either. And the sub-category is also a thing of interest to take into account. They will tell you that say for a Seafarer generally less than 0,01% and that for visiting a partner it can be higher than the avarage overal refusal rate since risk of trying to settle/stay is a bit higher compared to the seafarer to name one example. Fun note: For the Schengen area refusals range roughly between 2-3-4% annually when it concerns Thailand. (Schengen stats can be found here)

 

My point was that denying a visa in large numbers or even by default over nationality is nonsense.  

 

As for Thailand, the links in my post show these too. Indeed around 92-95% of Thai get their visa and about 5-8% is refused. Though the stats shows all temporary (visitor) visas. I wish I could see these stats in more detail so we can see how the stats are for say 'standard visitor visas' (regular tourists, visiting friends or partner).Does not seem to be such a more detailed specification.The data below gives a good indication but won't give a more insight of how many travels of a certain type (sub category etc.) get their visa or not.

 

A detailed table with sub-categories is this one, but that lacks refusal numbers:

UK Visitor Visas "entry-visas3-q4-2016-tables":

 

Table vi_06_q_o: Entry clearance visas granted by category and country of nationality: Other
Back to contents
Quarter	Country of nationality	EEA family permits	Visitors (Total)	Visitors (Main apps)	Visitors (Deps)	Transit
2016 Q1	Thailand	82	17.154	15.646	1.508	43
2016 Q2	Thailand	92	17.663	16.671	992	105
2016 Q3	Thailand	90	14.921	14.033	888	109
2016 Q4	Thailand	65	13.258	12.458	800	51

 

=====================

This table shows refusals but lacks sub-categories:

UK Visitor Visas "entry-visas1-q4-2016-tables":

 

Year - Country - %Granted - %Refused

2012 Q1	Thailand	95%	5%
2012 Q2	Thailand	95%	5%
2012 Q3	Thailand	95%	5%
2012 Q4	Thailand	92%	7%
2013 Q1	Thailand	96%	4%
2013 Q2	Thailand	95%	5%
2013 Q3	Thailand	95%	4%
2013 Q4	Thailand	92%	8%
2014 Q1	Thailand	96%	4%
2014 Q2	Thailand	95%	5%
2014 Q3	Thailand	94%	5%
2014 Q4	Thailand	92%	7%
2015 Q1	Thailand	93%	7%
2015 Q2	Thailand	94%	6%
2015 Q3	Thailand	94%	6%
2015 Q4	Thailand	92%	8%
2016 Q1	Thailand	94%	6%
2016 Q2	Thailand	92%	8%
2016 Q3	Thailand	93%	7%
2016 Q4	Thailand	93%	7%

Edited June 14, 2017 by Donutz

[bobrussell]

It would not be surprising to learn that Cambodia rejections are a bit higher than Thailand's. They still have very different economies and lower Western resident levels.

It does not automatically mean a Cambodian application is looked upon more harshly. It may be, for example, that applicants have more difficulties showing reasons to return. That said, ECO's may be scrutinising Cambodian applications more closely for just this reason.