G/F's Tourist Visa refused

[Englishman2010]

your right there, becuase the visit visa has been abused so much by some people , the embassy have no optionm but to make it difficult to get and it effects genuine visitors

I'm hoping that by sending copies of my own flight schedules to the Philippines for Aug/Sept 2010 and Dec 2010/Jan 2011, they will realise that the window for her coming here is Oct/Nov 2010, and will also realise that I am not going to waste money booking a flight in Dec/Jan if I am not planning to go back there to see her. Therefore, she will return home at the end of November.

We'll see how it goes now, and if it is still refused it's not the end of the world. As per my other thread, hopefully she will have a job at a call centre soon anyway. Give it another 6 months or so, and providing her employer will allow her time off for 4 - 8 weeks, it might be far easier as there should be a genuine reason for her to return home.

That's my logic, but no guarantee the officer at the Embassy will see it that way.

[darren-b]

I'm hoping that by sending copies of my own flight schedules to the Philippines for Aug/Sept 2010 and Dec 2010/Jan 2011, they will realise that the window for her coming here is Oct/Nov 2010, and will also realise that I am not going to waste money booking a flight in Dec/Jan if I am not planning to go back there to see her. Therefore, she will return home at the end of November.

We'll see how it goes now, and if it is still refused it's not the end of the world. As per my other thread, hopefully she will have a job at a call centre soon anyway. Give it another 6 months or so, and providing her employer will allow her time off for 4 - 8 weeks, it might be far easier as there should be a genuine reason for her to return home.

That's my logic, but no guarantee the officer at the Embassy will see it that way.

The problem with your logic is they show what you are thinking (assuming the flights aren't refundable), but they don't show what your girlfriend is thinking. And it's her intentions that are important.

Work can help getting a visa. But compare what she will earn in a call centre in manila to what Filipinos think they can earn working illegally in London and you will realise why it won't guarantee a tourist visa on it's own.

[Englishman2010]

I fully understand what you are saying Darren, and being honest, I don't think that they will overturn the decision this time, but as it isn't going to cost me any more than the £70 I've already paid with the original application, there's no harm in trying

[darren-b]

I fully understand what you are saying Darren, and being honest, I don't think that they will overturn the decision this time, but as it isn't going to cost me any more than the £70 I've already paid with the original application, there's no harm in trying

It isn't going to cost you anything more directly, but processing appeals costs which the UKBA pays for using visa fees/tax payers money.

[Englishman2010]

It isn't going to cost you anything more directly, but processing appeals costs which the UKBA pays for using visa fees/tax payers money.

I hear what you are saying, but it isn't me wasting the Tax Payers money. My g/f would be a genuine visitor and I am a loyal, honest and law abiding British subject, and as such there was no good reason to refuse the visa.
I have been paying 40% tax all of my working life, and never claimed anything in benefits, so I think it's about time I got something back out of the system I have paid so much into.

edit - I am sponsoring her proposed visit and I see it as my duty to ensure that she returns home at the end of the stay and that she doesn't abuse the rules of entry into the UK. I would even be prepared to take an undertaking guaranteeing to underwrite the cost of finding and repatriating her if she absconded. I am that confident that she is genuine.

[belfast_dude]

sorry to hear that news dude.

[Englishman2010]

sorry to hear that news dude.

It's not the end of the world, a bit of a disappointment, but there's still plenty of time. If the appeal fails we can always try again next year, and if everything goes well, maybe try a Fiancee Visa in the future?

[alesypalsy]

I feel for you englishman, Also I am glad you appealed, You are fully entitled to appeal so I fully agree you should and hopefully you shall win!
I am rather surprised at darrens comments? Why be so nasty, the chap wants his girlfriend to visit him in uk on holiday, he's the one paying and like he says, he paid the £70 already so its not any more money to appeal. I pretty sure hes paid enough tax by the sounds of him,
anyway i wish you the best of luck and will follow this thread.
Cheers

[darren-b]

I feel for you englishman, Also I am glad you appealed, You are fully entitled to appeal so I fully agree you should and hopefully you shall win!
I am rather surprised at darrens comments? Why be so nasty, the chap wants his girlfriend to visit him in uk on holiday, he's the one paying and like he says, he paid the £70 already so its not any more money to appeal. I pretty sure hes paid enough tax by the sounds of him,
anyway i wish you the best of luck and will follow this thread.
Cheers

You seem to miss my point, appeals actually increase the cost of future visas which I presume he will at some point be applying for.

(I'm actually surprised that you can appeal tourist visas.)

[Englishman2010]

I feel for you englishman, Also I am glad you appealed, You are fully entitled to appeal so I fully agree you should and hopefully you shall win!
I am rather surprised at darrens comments? Why be so nasty, the chap wants his girlfriend to visit him in uk on holiday, he's the one paying and like he says, he paid the £70 already so its not any more money to appeal. I pretty sure hes paid enough tax by the sounds of him,
anyway i wish you the best of luck and will follow this thread.
Cheers

Thanks for your support and kind comments . I don't think Darren meant anything nasty by his comment, he was just stating his opinion, which we are all entitled to do.

In my case, I feel that the officer who looked into the application seriously over looked the financial information we sent him, as well as my sponsor letter. If there were any doubt, he could have picked up the phone and called me or e-mailed me. Hence the decision to appeal.

Whether there should be an appeals process for Tourist Visas is a debate for another time. However, as the law stands currently, there is a process, and as a British tax payer I have every right to use that process. I don't think I've ever had good value for the tax I've paid over the last 23 years of my working life, so it's about time I got something back from the system I have worked hard to pay for

[Arthur Little]

Whether there should be an appeals process for Tourist Visas is a debate for another time. However, as the law stands currently, there is a process, and as a British tax payer I have every right to use that process. I don't think I've ever had good value for the tax I've paid over the last 23 years of my working life, so it's about time I got something back from the system I have worked hard to pay for

Very well said, mate ... MORE power to your "elbow" ... and all the best with the appeal!

[Arthur Little]

I am rather surprised at darrens *comments? Why be so nasty, the chap wants his girlfriend to visit him in uk on holiday, he's the one paying and like he says, he paid the £70 already so its not any more money to appeal. I pretty sure hes paid enough tax by the sounds of him

... they *DO read as being a bit rude - "holier than thou" even - given the circumstances.

I don't think Darren meant anything nasty by his comment, he was just stating his opinion, *which we are all entitled to do.

... *but there ARE nicer, more friendly ways of doing it! A modicum of civility costs nowt!

[Englishman2010]

Very well said, mate ... MORE power to your "elbow" ... and all the best with the appeal!

Many thanks Arthur

I chased the Appeals department today, and they have finally acknowledged receipt of the new paperwork. It should be sent to the Embassy in Manila sometime during the next 2 or 3 weeks. Upon receipt they will re-examine the file and either grant the visa this time or refuse it. There are no firm timescales for this, but the guy in the Uk said it usually takes the Embassies about 7 weeks.

[keithAngel]

The other point is that failed visa apps are a huge revenue stream good luck Englisman

[Englishman2010]

Thanks Keith
I'm going back out to the P.I for 2 and a half weeks in 9 weeks from today, TBH, I don't expect to hear an answer either way before I set off. I'm not building my hopes up anyway.

My g/f now has a job in a factory which she starts on Monday, I want her to have a good 6 months working hard so that she knows what work is. It might help her application if we re-apply in 6 months or so, subject to a further refusal on the appeal.