# General Visit Visa To Uk For Colombian Boyfriend - Urgent



## gregpicard (Aug 8, 2012)

Im hoping you can read over and see what you think about the likelyhood of success based on what we will be submitting, and suggest any last minute additions.


My Colombian boyfriend has applied for a General Visitor Visa to the UK for a 3 month stay (Im a UK citizen). He will be attending his appointment in Bogota on Thursday for biometrics and to submit his supporting documentation.

We actually met online through a friend 2 years ago, and spoke to each other every day. However i wouldnt say we were in a 'relationship', we just really liked each other but wanted to wait until we met in person before making any big decisions. I travelled to Colombia on 13th June and stayed with him and his family until returning back to the UK yesterday. We decided at the beginning of July that we wanted a proper relationship, and i wanted him to meet my family in the UK and stay with us for 3 months, so we made the visa application and arranged an appointment at the embassy to submit all documents for this Thursday. So obviously we have not been in a meaningful relationship for a long time period (so an Unmarried Partner application wouldnt be prudent)

My parents agreed to sponsor him (as i do not have the financial means etc) and have provided the relevant signed Letter of Support, including that he is my partner and they wish him to visit us and the rest of my family, also stating they will finance his entire trip, his flight and provide accomodation. My parents earn reasonably good wages, have provided all the financial documents (bank statements / wage slips) and their mortgage details to show they own the house. I live with my parents and work also (but have also got vacation time arranged for his trip)

On the letter of support and other letters (his employer letter of comfirmation etc) we stated his intent to come on 28th August and leave on 28th November. We have not booked a ticket yet, we wanted to wait until the visa was granted as the tickets from Bogota to London are not cheap (currently £1500 return) and we were worried about losing that if the visa is rejected or takes longer etc...is this a big negative?

He is employed as a private english tutor by a family to teach their son english. He has a typed work contract that has been notorized, stating his wages, employment time, etc. His boss also provided a notorized letter stating that he will grant him 90 days of vacation time to visit the UK, and that he expects him to return to continue his duties. One issue...these documents are in Spanish. We did get a work colleague of my boyfriend to accurately translate, state it was an accurate translation, and got his boss and him to sign the new english versions also..but im not sure if this is acceptable? We also provided a previous employment letter (which was in english and spanish and signed)

My boyfriends mother also provided a typed signed letter, stating his responsibilities to providing for her and his 3 sisters (payments on the rent, bills etc) and that she expects him to return after his visa ends to continue his responsibilities.

I have also provided a letter of invitation (formally inviting him to stay with me and my family for a holiday), and evidence that we have met before in Colombia this year (My passport stamp from Colombia, pictures of the two of us)



Is there any advice you could give on whether you think all of the documentation provided is suitable? Do you think it satisfies the requirements for the General visitor visa?

Obviously im concerned, as I have read many posts about boyfriend/girlfriend General visitor applications being declined due to the incentive to overstay in the UK etc. I've been quite relaxed until now but after reading some forums today i've begun to panic as the docs will all be submit on Thursday! Are they really that strict on General Visitor visas for partners? Will they frown upon the translation of his work documents not being from someone with a degree in translation but a fluent english speaker?

Kind Regards

G Innes


PS. I should also add that we only supplied my parents financial documentation as they will pay for the entire trip. My boyfriend is paid monthly, cash in hand (around 500 UK pounds for 40 hours work per month), and has never had use for a bank account because of this. He will have some funds availible to personally spend (we put 200 UK sterling on the form) as he still needs to provide the rest to his family.


Would it be a good idea to take a print-off of a proposed flight day / details, without actually having a paid ticket? (ie. a print screen of the proposed flight date, times, cost, airline)


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Normally, what you have provided is more than enough to be granted a general visitor visa. But there are a couple of issues.
a) You are in a relationship, and UKBA sees it as a potential case of overstay and illegal work, i.e. immigration offences.
b) A poor reputation of previous Columbian visitors and migrants. 

I don't know what else you can provide to improve your chances of success. Enclosing a screenshot of flights will be useful. Non-professional translation will probably suffice as it relates to supporting evidence, not main documents. Perhaps you can emphasise that he is just coming for a visit and will definitely go home in November. Stress the fact that while you are in relationship, he has no intention whatsoever to make his stay in UK permanent and any further visa application will be made back in Columbia.


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## gregpicard (Aug 8, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Normally, what you have provided is more than enough to be granted a general visitor visa. But there are a couple of issues.
> a) You are in a relationship, and UKBA sees it as a potential case of overstay and illegal work, i.e. immigration offences.
> b) A poor reputation of previous Columbian visitors and migrants.
> 
> I don't know what else you can provide to improve your chances of success. Enclosing a screenshot of flights will be useful. Non-professional translation will probably suffice as it relates to supporting evidence, not main documents. Perhaps you can emphasise that he is just coming for a visit and will definitely go home in November. Stress the fact that while you are in relationship, he has no intention whatsoever to make his stay in UK permanent and any further visa application will be made back in Columbia.


Thanks for the reply Joppa

I was concerned the UKBA might look dimly on the fact we are on a relationship, but we thought it would be better off to be truthful with them. Because my parents are sponsoring my boyfriend, it would be difficult to link the relationship and the fact they are willing to pay for his entire trip if he was merely a 'friend'. 

We have stated on the sponsor letter that we expect him to return to his family for christmas celebrations, the fact he has a reponsibility to support them, and to return to his job. His employer has also stated this on the letter. His mother has written a letter to confirm this too.

I'm relieved to hear about the spanish translation of supporting documents not being a crucial issue. His work colleague speaks fluent english anyway and if they wish to call her and confirm she will obviously be able to back it up.

In my supporting letter, and my parents, we both stated that I will accompany him back to Colombia at the end of his stay as i was planning on going back there anyway (we gave a date of 28th November to leave).

Just praying everything goes smoothly.

One extra thing: On the financial side of things, my parents provided all of the relevant bank statements and wage slips. On their bank, they are actually in Overdraft. But have a limit of £10,000, and normally have around £4000-5000 availible. They earn a combined £6000 per month in wages. The overdraft shouldnt be a problem as they still technically have funds availible yes?


Thanks for the help


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

I think you have done as much as can be expected to support his application. I know UKBA will scrutinise his application like any other submitted in Colombia, and hope they take a reasonable and sensible line. Best of luck.


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## gregpicard (Aug 8, 2012)

Joppa said:


> I think you have done as much as can be expected to support his application. I know UKBA will scrutinise his application like any other submitted in Colombia, and hope they take a reasonable and sensible line. Best of luck.


Hi again Joppa

Today my partner received an email from the Bogota embassy saying his documents were ready to collect. He couldn't go in today so will have to wait until Monday....ugh stressful.

However, i'm very worried. The process started on the 9th August, was assigned to a visa officer on the 16th August, and today (17th) we receieved the email that the documents were ready for collection with the decision.

One day makes me feel sick...seems like bad news. Surely they have to provide a visa card or something with an approval...or is it simply a stamp in passport?

But then again i think perhaps everything was in order and it was approved promptly. I would have thought it may take a few days to reject an application as the scrutinise it further...

The email on the 16th did say "You will shortly receive an email informing you of the decision made" so maybe this is normal to have one day with the visa officer.

Also within the 'collection' email (not the footer etc) were a few generic links to the border agency site, and a link to a pdf for 'Your stay in uk'

Surely it would be cruel to include such a link in an email if theres a rejection? That's going to get people's hopes up before the collect the documents...

If you have any knowledge of the proceedures etc please let me know!

Regards


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Sounds promising. Hope it's a good news. You will find out soon.


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## gregpicard (Aug 8, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Sounds promising. Hope it's a good news. You will find out soon.


Hi Joppa

The application was unsuccessful unfortunately....reasons being he did not have a secure enough job (as he's being employed by an individual and not a company) and that they did not have proper evidence of our relationship and that we lived together (provided pictures of us together but they also mentioned no proof of us living together....which is obvious as I was only there on a vacation with him for 2 months)

Sounds to me like they assumed we were long term partners....which is incorrect. But whatever, he would have been denied on the job side anyways.

I'm now accepting a teaching Job in Bogota and will be moving there within the next 2 months to live with him. Sad that we have been forced to do this, but no other choice. I'll work a year there, possibly get married and then reapply for a spouse visa in a year or two time.

Thanks for your help.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Sorry about that, but I know they are very strict about visitors from certain countries, and Colombia being among them. You can meet in a neutral country like France, Spain etc, if your partner can get a Schengen visa. Perhaps going for a settlement visa when the time is right is the best long-term solution.


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