# Visa been Refused - IELTS mistake



## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

Dear All,

just received the bad news that my wife's visa been refused because her IELTS exam paper did not have the UKVI reference number.

I am 99.999% sure we chose that tab
When we went to the website to book the test ,we selected IELTS for UKVI the it took us to exactly the same page as you have now for IELTS for UKVI,
(but now they specify that IELTS General for UKVI)

we saw the list, in this order:
-IELTS Academic
-IELTS General
-IELTS Life skill B1
-IELTS Life skill A1

if you choose the general, it would take to completely different site.
It is a mystery now how could this happen. 
Life skills for Visa purposes only..so it is such a confusing situation.

What can we do now?
we have 28 days to appeal.
there is no available test til April.

I am a dual citizen (Hungarian/British) so I could renounce my UK citizenship and bring her over as EU family member. (if they accept it)

but on our wedding certificate I have my british passport nr.
it also shows my BoD and town of birth.

Is it possible to do that, or they will see, that she had a refused visa, and I made some changes with my citizenship.

do we have to wait any specific time for reapplying?
everything else was ok, passed the relationship and financial requirements.

we are in tears...such a silly an unexpected mistake :Cry:

thanks

Richard


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

Which test did she take, and from which provider?


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

IELTS General
CEFR B1
overall score 4.5


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## ubay25 (Nov 16, 2017)

In my wife's case when she got the IELTS test certificate, it does show the UKVI number.

Maybe you should contact the test centre to query that.


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

ubay25 said:


> In my wife's case when she got the IELTS test certificate, it does show the UKVI number.
> 
> Maybe you should contact the test centre to query that.


did she get the visa eventually?

when was it?

thanks


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## ubay25 (Nov 16, 2017)

We are still n the process of the application.
But your IELTS should show the UKVI number on the result as I think tells that it's for visa purposes.


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

ahh, yes, it is not on the paper 

how long do we have to wait for the re application?
can it go with priority again?


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## Kankan (Oct 11, 2017)

richiesuk said:


> What can we do now?
> we have 28 days to appeal.
> there is no available test til April.


Richard,
We always used Trinity College London to do our Spouse Visa (in 2015) and then FLR(M) (in 2017) tests, so A1 and A2 tests. I've just looked at the website and it shows dates available for the UK for 02/02/2018 [THIS FRIDAY] but we always did it in London. We always got a date within a few days and the result immediately and the number that went onto the online form (in 2017).
NOW I DON'T KNOW THE GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL, but you can definitely do the test in the next few days, at least in Birmingham:

https://seltbooking.trinitycollege.co.uk/OEWeb/loadExamDtl.do

also:

Trinity College London - Tests for UKVI

Good luck !


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## ubay25 (Nov 16, 2017)

I feel sorry that this happened to you Richard.

Can you find any test centre she can go to take the test again quickly?


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

Unfortunately you won't have grounds for an appeal, since all of the documentation provided needs to have existed at the time you made your application. You would have to re-apply.


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

And this possibility?


'I am a dual citizen (Hungarian/British) so I could renounce my UK citizenship and bring her over as EU family member. (if they accept it)

but on our wedding certificate I have my british passport nr.
it also shows my BoD and town of birth.

Is it possible to do that, or they will see, that she had a refused visa, and I made some changes with my citizenship.'


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Why don't you just take an approved exam and reapply?

Have you heard of Brexit? By the time you renounce and reapply EU citizens might not have the right to live and work in the UK. Even if they do, your short time as an EU citizen in the UK might not give you the right to remain.


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

My honest opinion is that it would be ludicrous to renounce the most powerful citizenship in the world in order to circumvent taking a £150 English exam.


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

clever-octopus said:


> My honest opinion is that it would be ludicrous to renounce the most powerful citizenship in the world in order to circumvent taking a £150 English exam.



we have to re apply. £2200+

also, please could anybody tell me if we can reapply with priority after few months?
I heard that they are going to check everything more carefully because it is the 2nd application.

or we could move to another country for 3 months and then reapply.

thanks


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## Kankan (Oct 11, 2017)

What nationality is your wife ? I couldn't find a mention in your posts.

And which visa is she applying for ? Again, I couldn't find a mention.

Because, if she is Hungarian, and you are applying for a spouse visa, she can continue to reside with you [as an EU citizen] and when you've done the exam, etc., she can go abroad [Hungary ?], apply and return with the spouse visa.

In which case, I am assuming that your tears are over the £2,200 you've lost. That is sad. But not an irrecoverable situation.

Renouncing your British Citizenship is the daftest thing you can consider. Because you will have fewer rights after March 2019 and if you wish to continue living here, you will only be on a path to reapplying for an ILR and British Citizenship anyway. Which may also be compromised by the fact that you already renounced it once.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

richiesuk said:


> we have to re apply. £2200+
> 
> also, please could anybody tell rme if we can reapply with priority after few months?
> I heard that they are going to check everything more carefully because it is the 2nd application.
> ...


1) If it costs £2200 to reapply, how much does it cost to renounce your British Citizenship? How long will it take for the renunciation paperwork to go through (remember what Nyclon said about Brexit)? Do you have proof of your exercising your Treaty Rights here in the UK? 

2) There is no "Priority" for EU citizens looking to bring their non EU/EEA partners to the UK.

In regards to a new application as a British Citizen (i.e. if you haven't renounced your UK citizenshiP), Priority isn't recommended in your situation. While it will bring your application to the front of the line, it won't speed up the adjudication process; you are correct in that the Home Office _will_ be checking the application more carefully because of the refusal(s).

3) You would have to go to another country for _at least_ 3 months (6 months or more is preferable)... you have to prove that your lives have been integrated into your new country before you can consider coming back under the Surinder Singh rule - going away for 3 months won't really do it, especially as we inch closer to a firm Brexit.

If you were to leave the UK and exercise your treaty rights elsewhere (i.e. not in Hungary), how much would that cost for you to move home from the UK to a new country and start up living there? I'm pretty sure that it will cost >£2200 to move out of the UK and back again.


Your fastest and least complicated course of action would be for your partner to re-sit the English exam and then reapply.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> 1) If it costs £2200 to reapply, how much does it cost to renounce your British Citizenship? How long will it take for the renunciation paperwork to go through (remember what Nyclon said about Brexit)? Do you have proof of your exercising your Treaty Rights here in the UK?
> 
> 2) There is no "Priority" for EU citizens looking to bring their non EU/EEA partners to the UK.
> 
> ...


Food for thought for the OP:

I know somebody who did the Surinder Singh route via Germany for his parents.

All in all (moving back and forth, buying furniture/entire kitchen - furnished flats are rare in Germany - buying a car, air tickets, very, very high health insurance cost for elderly parents, professional translation of hundreds of pages of documents to show that their centre of life had been moved to Germany for about a year) he estimates that he spent about 50k €.

Surely this could be done less expensive, especially for a spouse rather than parents, but in no way will it be cheaper, easier or quicker than getting the right language test and reapplying.


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## kopfan (Jan 22, 2015)

Why does he not just do the trinity exam - pass and send it back as an appeal?


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

kopfan said:


> Why does he not just do the trinity exam - pass and send it back as an appeal?


I think you misunderstood the situation.

my wife is from Peru, I am Hungarian/British dual citizen.

firstly: 
'Unfortunately you won't have grounds for an appeal, since all of the documentation provided needs to have existed at the time you made your application. You would have to re-apply.'

secondly:
she cannot come to UK and do the trinity.


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> 1)
> 
> 2) There is no "Priority" for EU citizens looking to bring their non EU/EEA partners to the UK.
> 
> ...



Hello, thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated! 

Re: I meant reapply as British citizen and do the whole process again as priority.
I still do not get this.. only the language paper was wrong, all other criteria were passed ,and satisfied.

just wondering, why are thy checking again everything even more carefully?
they really want to fail people, right?

the next available exam in Peru is in end of April, or 22nd February in Ecuador.

I am really thinking to relocate from this country at the moment.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

richiesuk said:


> Hello, thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated!
> 
> Re: I meant reapply as British citizen and do the whole process again as priority.
> I still do not get this.. only the language paper was wrong, all other criteria were passed ,and satisfied.
> ...


You are advised (by the Home Office) not to do Priority if you have a refusal on record. 

It (Priority) will not speed up the application process as further checks and inquiries must be made into the application in regards to the reasons behind the refusal. 

Also, the rest of the application is more closely scrutinised to ensure that all of the original deficiencies have been remedied and that no new deficiencies have occurred (you could have remedied the English language requirement but neglected to send in one bank statement or pay slip - either of those are grounds for refusal)... these checks and inquiries take time, thus negating any speed that paying for priority might have garnered had you applied with a refusal free application.


Again, if you relocate... you should figure on being away from the UK for _at least_ 6 months or more. Yes, I know that there is no hard and fast rule as to what the minimum amount of time away from the UK is to be but, given that Brexit is a very real thing and will happen in a little more than a year, an argument could be made that your having left the UK for 3 months and then trying to come back via the Surinder Singh rules is your attempt to circumvent the rules, especially as your wife has a refusal on her record - this is something that the government is trying to prevent.

Surely, 6 months+ of being away from the UK is a lot longer than what it would take for your wife to sit her English exam at the end of April (i.e. 3 months from now) and re-apply and wait for a decision - if the English exam is the only deficiency to be rectified, then the inquiries shouldn't take too much longer than a regular non-priority application.


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

Thanks a lot, picture is getting clearer now!

can she do the IELTS test in a foreign country? let's say Ecuador ?

they have slots for 22nd february, but in Peru only in april...


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

richiesuk said:


> Thanks a lot, picture is getting clearer now!
> 
> can she do the IELTS test in a foreign country? let's say Ecuador ?
> 
> they have slots for 22nd february, but in Peru only in april...


She's welcome to sit the exam anywhere in the world, not just her home country, as long as a) she can get into the country in question and b) she has the funds to pay for the exam.



Good luck to your wife!


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

alright, that's good, exam can be 1 months earlier in Chile.

can they refuse me for things they already approved previously?

of course I will provide the recent bank statements, and payslips and dividend vouchers, and some extra communication and pictures planning to meet again before the application)
do I have to provide a letter from the agency again ,that they offered a contract till December?
provided the same paper, but from end of December. 

thanks,

Richard


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## jacob1215 (Feb 2, 2018)

Hi there Richard,

My partner and I are in the exact same situation with the IELTS test in doing the General one thinking it was going to have the UKVI registration. We are getting ready to reapply later this month.
All I could recommend is going through the process again and doing exactly what they suggest, nothing more nothing less, although we are going to include the General english test in the application again as back up and consistency.
You could also get a vfs service where they check all the documents prior to handing them in to make sure you have the correct information?

But good luck to you and your wife,

Jake


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## richiesuk (Sep 14, 2017)

hi all,

just an update,

looks like I am getting a really nice job for 9 months in Malta...and accommodation provided.

and possibly then we will move to Spain for 2 yrs and she can apply for citizenship.


Richard


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