Border and Immigration Agency Email Address

[IainBusby]

Hi All,
I just wonder if anyone knows of a general enquiry email address for the UK Border and Immigration Agency. I just can't seem to find one on their website. :Erm: After countless attempts just trying to get through on the phone to them yesterday, I then spent half an hour waiting in the queue to actually speak to someone. Apart from the failed calls and the waiting, the main reason I would prefer to email them is, I really would like to get their answers to my queries in writing.

When I did eventually get through and speak to someone, I managed to get all of the information I thought I needed, but when I got home and checked out both my wife's and step-daughters passports, I found that the information they gave me has raised other very important questions which I really need to find the answers to.

Just in case any of the forum members have come up against the same situation I will elaborate somewhat, in the hope that someone out there can tell me that things are not going to be quite as bad as they look to me at present.

I called them to establish when my wife and step-daughter need to apply for ILR (earliest and latest dates) with regard to the expiry dates on their settlement visas and their arrival in the UK and also if my step-daughter, who is only 10 years old, should be included on the same application form.

My wife's visa was issued on 12/09/06 and she arrived here on 29/09/2006 and I was told that the earliest date she could apply for ILR was 01/09/2008 and the latest her application could be received would be 12/09/2008. I was also told that my step-daughter could be included in my wife's application, but the person I spoke said that this may be dependant on whether the visa expiry date for my step-daughter's visa was the same as that for my wife's visa.

You've guessed it, they are not the same. The expiry date on my step-daughter's visa is on 10/01/2009 whereas my wife's visa expires on 12/09/2008 and I now need to establish if that means that she cannot be included on her mother's ILR application.

I also need to know that if this is the case and given that her visa will expire on 10/01/2009, what will be the timetable for us to apply for ILR on her behalf and if we will also have to pay another £750 fee. Worse still, could it be that we will have to apply firstly for FLR (£395) on her behalf and then apply for ILR (£750) on her behalf in August 2009 by which time she will have been in the UK for 2 years.

Iain.

[joebloggs]

yes, i think the dates are right for when your wife can apply for ilr, but always apply soon asap, so if there is a problem, you've got a bit of time to sort it out..

as for your step daughter, i might be wrong thou, but i don't think it matters what date her visa expires, as long as its not expired when you apply for your wifes ilr, thou i wonder why its not the same expire date as your wife:Erm:

your wife has to be in the uk 2yrs - upto 28days to be able to apply for ILR, but her daughter, who is a dependent doesn't have to be in the uk 2yrs, so i don't see why you cannot apply for ILR at the same time on the same application form.

you need to phone them a couple of times, as you might get a couple of different answers, phone your local law centre to, see what they say,but depending on what they say, i think if i was you, i would send them both on the same app, and on the earliest date.

[IainBusby]

Thanks for that Joe,
I phoned them again yesterday and as on the day before, after many failed calls, I managed to get in to the queue and got through to someone about 15 to 20 minutes later. I told the woman there what I had been told previously and explained to her that the visa expiry dates were in fact different for my wife and step-daughter.

I did manage to get an email address from her because what she told me complicated the matter even more and I didn't want to spend an hour on the phone again today trying to get my query sorted out. The email address I got, for the sake of any of the other members on here who may need to contact them is ukbapublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk (ukbapublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk) .

What she told me that confused the issue even more was that as well as the visa expiry dates, it depended on the visa "Type" as seen on the visa slip. She said it should say "Dependant" and after checking my step-daughters visa slip I found that it didn't say "Dependant", it actually says "Visa to Join Parent(s)".

Anyway, I have have sent an email with all of the dates and other information to the email address above and I have received a automated reply saying that they aim to deal with all such enquiries within 5 working days, so I suppose I will just have to wait to hear what they have to say.

Cheers,

Iain.

[IainBusby]

Thanks for that Joe,
I phoned them again yesterday and as on the day before, after many failed calls, I managed to get in to the queue and got through to someone about 15 to 20 minutes later. I told the woman there what I had been told previously and explained to her that the visa expiry dates were in fact different for my wife and step-daughter.

I did manage to get an email address from her because what she told me complicated the matter even more and I didn't want to spend an hour on the phone again today trying to get my query sorted out. The email address I got, for the sake of any of the other members on here who may need to contact them is ukbapublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk (ukbapublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk) .

What she told me that confused the issue even more was that as well as the visa expiry dates, it depended on the visa "Type" as seen on the visa slip. She said it should say "Dependant" and after checking my step-daughters visa slip I found that it didn't say "Dependant", it actually says "Visa to Join Parent(s)".

Anyway, I have have sent an email with all of the dates and other information to the email address above and I have received a automated reply saying that they aim to deal with all such enquiries within 5 working days, so I suppose I will just have to wait to hear what they have to say.

Cheers,

Iain.

[Tiggers0608]

:omg: wow means £750 x2 ....

me and my daughter just got here in UK, we applied for visa settlement at the same time but her visa didnt say shes my dependent, on her visa it says "visa to join parent/s" , does it means we have to pay separate too? wow :NoNo::doh:bigcry:

[IainBusby]

:omg: wow means £750 x2 ....

me and my daughter just got here in UK, we applied for visa settlement at the same time but her visa didnt say shes my dependent, on her visa it says "visa to join parent/s" , does it means we have to pay separate too? wow :NoNo::doh:bigcry:

No you should be alright, it's just in our case, my step-daughter came almost a year later than my wife.
Iain.

[joebloggs]

IND can be a waste of time, you get different answers each time..

your visa is right ian , it should say to join parents, what ever happens to your wife visa wise, has to happen to her daughter. your wife gets ILR, then so does your daughter, that's if you put her down as a dependent on your wifes ILR app.

it doesn't matter if your daughter came 6 months or not after your wife, i took the :censored: a bit, and didn't get my stepson here until he was nearly 18, and had only been in the uk less than 5 months and was given ILR, but by the time i could apply for ILR for the misses he had turned 18, so i had to pay 2 fees, but our 7yr old daughter went down as a depedent on her moms visa app, and that was one fee for them both :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Tiggers0608]

:Erm: yeah i guess your right, coz if you ask any company something they always answer it in different ways :rolleyes:

yeah hopefully and just pay one than 2 payments of £750 :doh ... thanks for the infos its really helpfull :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[IainBusby]

IND can be a waste of time, you get different answers each time..

your visa is right ian , it should say to join parents, what ever happens to your wife visa wise, has to happen to her daughter. your wife gets ILR, then so does your daughter, that's if you put her down as a dependent on your wifes ILR app.

it doesn't matter if your daughter came 6 months or not after your wife, i took the :censored: a bit, and didn't get my stepson here until he was nearly 18, and had only been in the uk less than 5 months and was given ILR, but by the time i could apply for ILR for the misses he had turned 18, so i had to pay 2 fees, but our 7yr old daughter went down as a depedent on her moms visa app, and that was one fee for them both :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Cheers Joe,
That is reassuring!

Iain.

[IainBusby]

Just to let you all know the outcome of this saga, after the first response I got from the UKBA which asked for the exact wording on my step-daughter's visa :Brick: and then the second response to confirm my wife's immigration status and give them the exact wording on her visa slip with regard to "Visa Type".:Brick: Then after the third try where I laid out all of the visa dates, arrival dates and the visa types for both my wife and step-daughter, I finally got the answer I was hoping for, "She may include her daughter under the age of 18 for no additional fee if she is applying as her dependant. But if she applies separately, she must pay the prescribed fee" :xxgrinning--00xx3:
Iain.

[andypaul]

Just to let you all know the outcome of this saga, after the first response I got from the UKBA which asked for the exact wording on my step-daughter's visa :Brick: and then the second response to confirm my wife's immigration status and give them the exact wording on her visa slip with regard to "Visa Type".:Brick: Then after the third try where I laid out all of the visa dates, arrival dates and the visa types for both my wife and step-daughter, I finally got the answer I was hoping for, "She may include her daughter under the age of 18 for no additional fee if she is applying as her dependant. But if she applies separately, she must pay the prescribed fee" :xxgrinning--00xx3:
Iain.

Great news :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[IainBusby]

Cheers Andy.