# Sponsor name wrong on visa



## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

Thanks to Joppa and everyone else here, last week my wife was granted her UK visa. I was so happy, only to find out that they have my name wrong on the visa. Somehow, they have got my first initial utterly incorrect - not sure how, as the letters are at opposite ends of the keyboard, and the amount of docs we supplied with my name on was dizzying.

If my wife shows up with said visa, will they turn her around? I am now sick with worry. Have tried to find a way of alerting the UKBA in a timely fashion but their website is proving maddeningly difficult to navigate around. Any help would be very much appreciated.


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## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Try here, scroll down for the paragraph on what to do if there is a mistake on the visa:

UK Border Agency | Information for visa holders



> When you collect or receive your visa, you should immediately check that it:
> 
> contains your correct personal details;
> correctly states the reason why you are coming to the UK; and
> ...


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

Desperately trying to get through to someone - is there not a direct phone number for the UKBA for this kind of thing? My wife is due to fly on Wednesday! We should have checked before now, I feel so utterly stupid. 

Can't believe this mistake could jeopardise everything. Feeling quite angry with the UKBA and myself.


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## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

cliffbyford said:


> Desperately trying to get through to someone - is there not a direct phone number for the UKBA for this kind of thing? My wife is due to fly on Wednesday! We should have checked before now, I feel so utterly stupid.
> 
> Can't believe this mistake could jeopardise everything. Feeling quite angry with the UKBA and myself.


I think there is a direct number, Joppa posted it yesterday or the day before in a thread about missing documents and passports. If I can find the post before Joppa posts in, I'll copy it in here.

You can't get anyone there in the US today anyway-it's Memorial Day and I think the UKBA NYC observes both US and UK holidays.

ETA: nope, it was Manny.J:



> ...OR you can contact British Consulate in NYC directly.
> 
> Their contact number is: (212) 745 0200
> And Fax Number is: (212) 754-3062


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Your wife must get this sorted before she tries to enter the UK. There should have been an email address or phone number included with her returned documents. There really is no need to freak out. Once you contact them they will give you instructions on how to submit the documents for correction and it usually takes a few days.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Those numbers are likely to be the main switchboard and unlikely to take calls on visa queries. The only way to contact them is by email - go to UKBA section under countries and USA and look for contact and complaint.
It's too late to do anything about the visa because you only have one day to get it sorted. They would say you should have checked and got in touch earlier. 

So what I suggest you do is to prepare a covering letter to show *IF *discrepancy is pointed out. Don't draw the immigration officer's attention to it as there's nothing wrong with the visa itself. In it you should state that there is an error with the sponsor's name, and point it out. Enclose a scanned copy of your sponsor's passport page. If you don't have one, ask your sponsor to email it to you ASAP. Also attach a copy of the relevant page of your visa application where you entered the sponsor's details, to show the mistake wasn't yours.

This isn't ideal and you may have further hassles when it comes to FLR or ILR, but for now, let's hope this will get you into UK without major drama.


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

Thank you so much for all your advice. We stupidly looked at everything except my first initial - you would have thought that with the mountains of documentation we provided that this would not have happened, and that for a document as important (and expensive) that some kind of check would have been made.

Oh well - will update you on Thursday as to whether all went well. As you say, the visa is a proper one and issued to my wife, and she does have all the corroborating evidence you suggest she brings along. Fingers crossed...


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## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

I just saw your post on the timeline thread that your wife made it across and is with you here in the UK:clap2:

So I was wondering how the incorrect initial on the visa was resolved? Did she simply 'take a chance', or was she able to get it corrected before leaving the US?

Again, very happy to hear that the two of you are together and getting started on your new life in the UK together!


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> I just saw your post on the timeline thread that your wife made it across and is with you here in the UK:clap2:
> 
> So I was wondering how the incorrect initial on the visa was resolved? Did she simply 'take a chance', or was she able to get it corrected before leaving the US?
> 
> Again, very happy to hear that the two of you are together and getting started on your new life in the UK together!


Many thanks! Until the moment she came through the doors of the arrivals lounge at the airport I was worried. Actually, I had an inkling she was fine when I received a text saying that her luggage would be delivered the next day (she had to re-route her journey due to weather conditions; unfortunately her baggage couldn't do the same).

As it so happened, my wife apparently got a guy on their first day on the job. This was coupled with a computer system that was playing up, so after a few cursory questions and a quick look at the visa she was let through.

We still plan to get in touch with UKBA to demonstrate that we are acting in good faith and not trying to deceive anyone (and we have proof of our initiating contact with WorldBridge to back this up). Hopefully it will just be a case of sending my wife's passport to Croydon in order to get it adjusted.

Joppa - my wife came fully armed with all documents we submitted to the UKBA in NY, so we were prepared. Many thanks for the sound advice.


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## Nicola P (May 10, 2015)

cliffbyford said:


> Many thanks! Until the moment she came through the doors of the arrivals lounge at the airport I was worried. Actually, I had an inkling she was fine when I received a text saying that her luggage would be delivered the next day (she had to re-route her journey due to weather conditions; unfortunately her baggage couldn't do the same).
> 
> As it so happened, my wife apparently got a guy on their first day on the job. This was coupled with a computer system that was playing up, so after a few cursory questions and a quick look at the visa she was let through.
> 
> ...


Hi there

I have just had my visa back and my sponsors name reads C M Connolly as opposed to G M Connolly. My flight is in 3 days so I do not have time to correct this before I get to the UK. This was for a fiancee visa. Did you manage to change your wifes visa from inside the UK? I am unsure if I will need to since we are marrying soon & then will be applying for a spouse visa. Any advice would be most appreciated!

Nicola


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

Nicola P said:


> Hi there
> 
> I have just had my visa back and my sponsors name reads C M Connolly as opposed to G M Connolly. My flight is in 3 days so I do not have time to correct this before I get to the UK. This was for a fiancee visa. Did you manage to change your wifes visa from inside the UK? I am unsure if I will need to since we are marrying soon & then will be applying for a spouse visa. Any advice would be most appreciated!
> 
> Nicola


Hi Nicola,

As you probably saw,my spouse was let through without incident - it seemed that the border guards were only interested in the validity of the visa itself.

We did indeed get the visa changed once my spouse was in the UK. I sent a fairly bumptious letter complaining about how much time, effort and money goes into a visa application only for elementary mistakes to be made. I got quite an apologetic note back.

Assuming your partner is waiting for you at the airport, make sure they have a couple of corroborating forms of ID on them - say a passport and a driver's licence. Try to have some kind of corroborating ID (to go with your passport) about your person too. If you have any paper copies of your application info, bring those along too, especially if they show you entered your fiance's name in correctly.

Once you're in the country, don't delay in getting your visa changed to the correct name. Good luck! You should be fine.


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## Nicola P (May 10, 2015)

cliffbyford said:


> Hi Nicola,
> 
> As you probably saw,my spouse was let through without incident - it seemed that the border guards were only interested in the validity of the visa itself.
> 
> ...


Thank you! My partner spoke to UKVI today and one person told him that if we have already booked the flight then we should still travel but they would have suggested getting it corrected if we had not already booked the flight.

He called again and someone told him that we should get it fixed first! I do not want to wait a month for it to all to go back and forth then leave it open for further human errors!

When you got to the UK how did you go about getting it fixed??

Fingers crossed we are all fine!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Please don't post the same message on multiple threads, several years old. It makes a forum a mess! I have already replied on your other thread, which I have made into a new one. So please, observe forum rules.


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