# Applicants from Pakistan- spouse visa



## Anxious_wife (Mar 11, 2013)

Hi all,

I hope this thread doesn't offend anyone, I am genuinely seeking advice because I feel lost in this sea of paperwork and visa applications.

I am British and my husband is Pakistani, we will be applying for a settlement visa in a month or two from Pakistan. I am very aware that applicants from Pakistan/India are faced with a lot more scrutiny when it comes to settlement visas and face very long waiting times to process applications (which stresses me out to no end).

I would like some advice/information on the most common reasons why people from Pakistan/India have their visas refused so that we can make our application as perfect as it can be.

I am not of a South East Asian background so I am totally oblivious to cultural factors or others that could contribute to a visa refusal.

Please help/advise!


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## Guest (May 20, 2013)

How would your genuine question be offensive. 

But people from many high risk countries, including Pakistan, have trouble getting visas due to the amount of visa fraud coming from these countries. 

You need to prove the relationship is genuine beyond any doubt ie not a sham marriage. That you are in a committed genuine relationship with each other which is going to continue. 

There is of course all the other requirements, financial, housing etc but everyone has the same problems with meeting them.


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## wannabe-uk (May 6, 2013)

How long does it take for a settlement visa from Pakistani?


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## AmyD (Jan 12, 2013)

Cultural factors do not contribute to visa refusals. Failure to meet requirements is why visas are refused in any country.


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## Anxious_wife (Mar 11, 2013)

_shel said:


> How would your genuine question be offensive.
> 
> But people from many high risk countries, including Pakistan, have trouble getting visas due to the amount of visa fraud coming from these countries.
> 
> ...


Thank you, yes I have a feeling they may suspect it is a sham marriage because he is from a high risk country such as Pakistan. I have lots of proof to prove otherwise, so I guess I am just looking for reassurance and any tips on how to make our application very strong.

Thank you to everyone else who responded.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Anxious_wife said:


> Thank you, yes I have a feeling they may suspect it is a sham marriage because he is from a high risk country such as Pakistan. I have lots of proof to prove otherwise, so I guess I am just looking for reassurance and any tips on how to make our application very strong.
> 
> Thank you to everyone else who responded.


In one of the episodes of fly-on-the-wall documentary, UK Border Force, there was a Pakistani man who was engaged to a (white) Welsh woman about 20 years his senior. They had to go through close scrutiny, including personal interviews, before they decided to award him settlement visa. She had to plead with ECO to allow her fiancé to come to Wales, and had to show they were genuinely in love and thus it was no visa scam. The ECO was initially sceptical and was going to deny him visa. He gave them last chance to prove it, and they did so successfully. It was then stated that they have gone to Wales, got married and are still happily together.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

The episode that Joppa refers to can be found 



.


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## OrganisedChaos (Mar 26, 2013)

The guidance for finance is either you meet it or you don't, however proof of a subsisting marriage is down to individual couples. 

I think the key with such countries (my husband is Jamaican which in the past was similar to Pakistan/India re refusals) is to provide a good timeline of evidence of your relationship... I will be including photos, call records and screenshots of various methods of communication all covering from when we met to when we apply. I am still unsure how much of everything to submit, but you can't be refused for supplying too much I guess.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

There are many factors behind the lengthy delays. Some, as have been mentioned, come down to whether a particular country has a greater reputation of fake applications but also there are greater volumes of applicants to process too (some hubs worldwide seem to struggle more than others - likely due to volume and staffing). India and Pakistan probably fit into both categories. There have been some political moves to make processing MUCH quicker - especially for points-based visas, but settlement visas still remain behind and scrutiny is as high as ever. The episode of UK Border Force being referred to above I remember well: the relationship was absolutely genuine and it made me sad to see them subjected to such hard scrutiny and uncertainty - but unfortunately sham marriages are framed to be very convincing too. As always, it is the genuine majority who pay for the minority who abuse the system.

Beyond all this, remember that UKBA only want to stop fake relationships. All you need to do is provide paper proof that you have a genuine relationship. The burden of proof is a little less on you and your husband because you are already married, so it's more a case of demonstrating how you keep in touch when apart. Screenshots of email quantities, all international call charges, some sample screenshots of any messaging conversations online - all these will help along with your marriage certificate.


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## Anxious_wife (Mar 11, 2013)

Joppa said:


> In one of the episodes of fly-on-the-wall documentary, UK Border Force, there was a Pakistani man who was engaged to a (white) Welsh woman about 20 years his senior. They had to go through close scrutiny, including personal interviews, before they decided to award him settlement visa. She had to plead with ECO to allow her fiancé to come to Wales, and had to show they were genuinely in love and thus it was no visa scam. The ECO was initially sceptical and was going to deny him visa. He gave them last chance to prove it, and they did so successfully. It was then stated that they have gone to Wales, got married and are still happily together.



There are 4 years between me and my husband and we both share the same beliefs/religion so I think that helps us a lot. He also speaks fluent English as I don't speak a word of Urdu so hopefully that doesn't come across as a sham marriage to them. 



WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> The episode that Joppa refers to can be found here.


Man! I felt so much for them, glad they got the visa in the end.



OrganisedChaos said:


> The guidance for finance is either you meet it or you don't, however proof of a subsisting marriage is down to individual couples.
> 
> I think the key with such countries (my husband is Jamaican which in the past was similar to Pakistan/India re refusals) is to provide a good timeline of evidence of your relationship... I will be including photos, call records and screenshots of various methods of communication all covering from when we met to when we apply. I am still unsure how much of everything to submit, but you can't be refused for supplying too much I guess.


Good luck!!!



2farapart said:


> There are many factors behind the lengthy delays. Some, as have been mentioned, come down to whether a particular country has a greater reputation of fake applications but also there are greater volumes of applicants to process too (some hubs worldwide seem to struggle more than others - likely due to volume and staffing). India and Pakistan probably fit into both categories. There have been some political moves to make processing MUCH quicker - especially for points-based visas, but settlement visas still remain behind and scrutiny is as high as ever. The episode of UK Border Force being referred to above I remember well: the relationship was absolutely genuine and it made me sad to see them subjected to such hard scrutiny and uncertainty - but unfortunately sham marriages are framed to be very convincing too. As always, it is the genuine majority who pay for the minority who abuse the system.
> 
> Beyond all this, remember that UKBA only want to stop fake relationships. All you need to do is provide paper proof that you have a genuine relationship. The burden of proof is a little less on you and your husband because you are already married, so it's more a case of demonstrating how you keep in touch when apart. Screenshots of email quantities, all international call charges, some sample screenshots of any messaging conversations online - all these will help along with your marriage certificate.


Thank you for your advice, I've got 7 years worth of emails, gmail chats, pictures from each time we met and wedding pics so hopefully that will suffice. I was going to include our wedding video, but in the guide on the Ukba's website it says not to send DVDs so we won't do that, I will include one of our wedding invites too.

We also chat via Skype, but I use my iPad and that doesn't store history, but hopefully what we have is good enough.


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## SRMiah (Mar 24, 2013)

I am from India and have been in a relationship with my British husband for 5 years. We applied in march and are now awaiting the results (fingers crossed). 

When I went to submit the documents, my husband had arranged our file so methodically that the VFS person mentioned how he would love to use our application as a case study! He also made me remove a lot of the pictures we had put as only a certain number (I think 24) are allowed. We had written the names of everyone in the picture, date, location etc behind each and every picture. 

My husband focused mainly is proving that we have a genuine relationship, his eligibility of sponsorship and my future prospects as a professional in the country. I think those should logically be the main concerns for the embassy while deciding on applicants. 

I hope all goes well for you


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## Anxious_wife (Mar 11, 2013)

SRMiah said:


> I am from India and have been in a relationship with my British husband for 5 years. We applied in march and are now awaiting the results (fingers crossed).
> 
> When I went to submit the documents, my husband had arranged our file so methodically that the VFS person mentioned how he would love to use our application as a case study! He also made me remove a lot of the pictures we had put as only a certain number (I think 24) are allowed. We had written the names of everyone in the picture, date, location etc behind each and every picture.
> 
> ...


Oh wow that sounds very positive. So far I've organised our file very meticulously and I've labelled everything and put everything in order and in sections, hopefully it's easy for the entry clearance officer to navigate the folder.

Thank you and hope all goes well for you too.


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