# Visa - Rejected



## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

Hello,

Im sturuggling to type here as I bring the sad news that my girlfriends visa was rejected and I desperately need advice and support as to what my next actions should be.

The reason for rejection was

*There is an onus upon you, to state your reasons for visiting the UK. You have failed to do so.*

Under the application we stated under reasoning, 'Tourism and visiting friends'. Is this not enough?

*You've stated that you will travel to the UK with a Mr M Bones (me) who one assumes is the son of the UK sponsors (I am). However you have chosen not to provide me with any information to put your application into context. The only evidence which might suggest you are in a relationship with Mr Bone is a House deposit lease contract. 
I am therefore not satisfied from the evidence submitted that yhou are adequately demonstrated your relationship to the UK Sponsors which casts doubt on your intentions in the UK. 
*

I asked on this forum if I would need to provide any other supporting documents about myself and the answer I got was no. Can anyone elaborate on this for me?

Most importantly, please can someone tell me what our next steps should be. If we appeal can we provide more information about myself or are we not allowed to submit further documents.

We have a flight booked on the 25th of May. Should I now seek to reschedule this flight or is there any possibility we could get a visa in time before the 25th of May?

I would appreciate any advice, I'm completely broken down and need help getting back up.

Thank you


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

*There is an onus upon you, to state your reasons for visiting the UK. You have failed to do so. You've stated that you will travel to the UK with a Mr M Bones (me) who one assumes is the son of the UK sponsors (I am). However you have chosen not to provide me with any information to put your application into context. The only evidence which might suggest you are in a relationship with Mr Bones is a House deposit lease contract. 
I am therefore not satisfied from the evidence submitted that yhou are adequately demonstrated your relationship to the UK Sponsors which casts doubt on your intentions in the UK. 
*

Just reading on the above paragraph I think I misread it and the only reason for rejection was because of the insufficient information about myself.

Please could someone provide me with a checklist of information I should provide as supporting documents for her application. Because of our shared lease they have presumed we are in a relationship (which we are). What information should I show to prove we are just going for a holiday and will return after the 3 weeks?

Thank you


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

To also add.

I have spoke to the airline and their cancellation charges encourage me to reapply for the same date of departure (25th of May)

Can I provide the same documentation from my parents (the letter of invitation etc) I presume there would be no problem doing this as the dates for our intended departure are the same.


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

Really hoping someone can reply to me today as I need to get the ball rolling. Her rescheduled appointment with the embassy is next week (2nd April)

I am going to do the following:

-Write a letter stating who I am, confirming that we currently share an apartment and that she will accompany me on my trip to visit my family.
-Provide a work contract, confirmation of leave and letter of commitment from my employers
-Biometrics page of my passport

Should I confirm in the letter that she is my girlfriend or that we just live together. If I state she is my girlfriend, should I write that we do not plan to stay or marry in the UK? 

Is there any additional documents you would recommend I provide about me?

I would reeeaallly appreciate a reply at the soonest opportunity.

Thanks in advance


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## cc9 (Oct 29, 2012)

Hi I can only give advice based on my own personal experience so here goes and I hope it is useful to you.
The UKBA want to know why the applicant is looking to visit the UK and want proof that she will return home at the end of the trip.
I suggest you get your girlfriend to write a letter giving reasons for her trip and her relationship with the sponsors. Don't try to hide the fact you are in a relationship as it can come back to bite you later, believe me I know.
Your girlfriend also needs to provide evidence of strong ties to her home country by providing employment information, rental agreement and anything else that can show she has every intention to return home. A letter from her employer stating she has approved time off from work can also be good proof. 
She also should provide proof that she has adequate finances to fund the trip. 
Good luck


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## MacUK (Jul 3, 2012)

Why can't you just apply for a fiancée visa instead?

Are you serious about this girl? Are you ready to tie the knot with her? if so, why complicate her immigration history, because the fact that you are in a relationship is not in your favour. They will think she might overstay because you have a house rented out together, and therefore violate immigration rules by giving notice of marriage, when you are not allowed to do so.
I hold very little hope, to be honest, we've seen a lot of refusals lately and it is ukba policy to make decisions on the balance of probabilities, so your situation won't be looked upon favourably. 
Unless she has some on going university studies or a serious job back home/rental commitments i.e. strong economic and personal ties. 
And don't even think about concealing the fact that you're in a relationship.

I know this because every single member that has requested a visitor visa to visit their respective GF/BF was refused. Lately, ukba has been refusing settlement visas for people that have been married for a number of years with children citing a genuine and subsisting relationship as one of the reasons.... 
We are also waiting for the outcome of our application and though we meet all the requirements, I hold very little hope, seems that the ECO who is handling the Balkan applications is at level sub zero with compassion and lenience towards married people with children. Ruthless, I know, but that's life.


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## cc9 (Oct 29, 2012)

I think the OP lives abroad with his girlfriend and this is only a trip home for him so his girl can meet his family.


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## ahidges (Mar 20, 2013)

the responses to your post are really good - tourist visa's are difficult to come by - especially if you are in a relationship - definitely have to prove that she will return - I was told a good bit of advice is that the partner should prove their actual ties to the land of their home - property, job, rental agreement etc etc etc. 

and yes - if you are planning to marry - then the spouse visa maybe better


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

MacUK said:


> Why can't you just apply for a fiancée visa instead?
> 
> Are you serious about this girl? Are you ready to tie the knot with her? if so, why complicate her immigration history, because the fact that you are in a relationship is not in your favour. They will think she might overstay because you have a house rented out together, and therefore violate immigration rules by giving notice of marriage, when you are not allowed to do so.
> I hold very little hope, to be honest, we've seen a lot of refusals lately and it is ukba policy to make decisions on the balance of probabilities, so your situation won't be looked upon favourably.
> ...


Hi mac,

Sorry for not making it clear, but I live in Vietnam with my girlfriend, I want to visit my parents in the uk for 3 weeks with her then return back. The apartment we rent is in Vietnam, not in the UK.

My girlfriend has already given and supplied documents to show ties back to Vietnam, the reason it was rejected was because they couldn't tie her relationship to the sponsors (my mum and dad in the uk). So she will apply again and I will write a letter explaining who I am and that I would like her to accompany me on my visit to my family.

I was thinking of providing:

- A letter confirming our relationship together, that I want her to accompany me and confirming the uk sponsors are my parents
- my work contract in Vietnam showing my ties to the country
- confirmation of leave and my intent to return from my employer
- our lease on our apartment in Vietnam 

I want to know if I should provide any more documents to help her application or if people think the above would be sufficient.

Here's hoping someone can give me some assurance.

Thanks for your replies so far


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, what UKBA isn't clear about is your exact relationship to your girlfriend (you only submitted joint lease of a property in Vietnam - you could just me house mates). So evidence confirming your relationship is good, which ties her to you and therefore to your parents who are presumably paying for the trip. Have they said you can appeal, and given you details on how to? Visitor visa rejection can't always be appealed against.


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

Would a letter worded like the below be ok? I am not sure whether I should include the writing I have highlighted.

_My name is *name* and I am a British Citizen currently residing in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.

On the 25th of May 2013 I will fly to London, England to visit my family and friends for 3 weeks returning back to Ho Chi Minh City on the 15th of June 2013.
I would like my girlfriend, *name* to accompany me on my visit. I currently share an apartment with *name* and have been dating her since May 5th 2012. 

My parents, *name* and *bame* will act as her sponsors. They have confirmed that they can accommodate and financially support her for the duration of our visit. (Please see letter of invitation and supporting documents)

*I can confirm that we have no intention to stay or marry in the UK. We will return to Ho Chi Minh city after our visit as we both have work commitments and an apartment lease.*

Please find my personal details, work contract, letter of commitment and confirmed leave from my employer which supports this document.
*
I understand that *name* application was previously denied a general visit visa due to the lack of information provided on my behalf. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for this error and hope the information now provided about me is sufficient.
*_

Please let me know your thoughts on the above.

Thank you!


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Sounds good. I am surprised that you didn't supply such a letter when Miss Saigon first applied.

I think it's good that you have the opportunity to appeal, as so many applicants for settlement visas are being refused outright without being offered the opportunity to remedy the problems in their applications. 

Good luck to you!


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> Sounds good. I am surprised that you didn't supply such a letter when Miss Saigon first applied.
> 
> I think it's good that you have the opportunity to appeal, as so many applicants for settlement visas are being refused outright without being offered the opportunity to remedy the problems in their applications.
> 
> Good luck to you!


Hi,

This is actually going to be a new application. Is that okay?

On the rejection letter they noted that her right of appeal is limited to the grounds referred to in section 84(1)(c) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum act 2002
www.legislastion.gov.uk 

Looking at the appeal processing times it would take longer than what a new application would. The last rejected visa came back within 12 working days.)

Would it be okay to just make a new application?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, and you aren't losing a lot of money if you factor in the appeal fee of at least £80.


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## bonesy (Feb 11, 2013)

Thank you for your replies thus far, it's a great help.

I have a couple more questions if that's okay.

Because of the timing between applications, we won't have time to supply the most recent bank statements from my parents who are sponsoring her (they go up to the end of February). 

We plan to use the same supporting documents from my parents as per our last application.

Should my girlfriend just include a note stating due to the short time between applications we are unable to get the documents sent from my parents in time?

Secondly, is it worth adding to the cover letter the stress this is putting on our relationship? (e.g "We really hope this application is to your expectations as It is putting a large amount of physical and emotional stress on us etc..) . Because it really is.. my girlfriend hasn't stopped crying since the rejection letter, she feels absolutely awful. I know they have to be very strict with the rules and it was our error for the previous application, I just wasn't sure if they adding a more 'personal' letter would be helpful.

Many thanks


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

First, a short explanation about dates of your documents are fine. If you can get more recent ones, that's even better.
Secondly, it's best to be unemotional and business-like.


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