visit visa refused

[sammy]

hi all, long time since ive posted here.
can anyone advise with the following. a friend of mine who risides in the uk (does not have computer) had his gf visit visa refused to visit him here. first reason was the usual that she has no family, social or economic ties to return back to philippines, the second was her boyfriend did not supply enough evidence of employment or accommodation in the uk, he did send mortgage statements and 6 months bank statements for current account and business account and about £60,000 isa savings statements, he owns a one bedroom flat and lives alone but he forgot to send council tax statement as well as business yearly statement from his accountant as he is self employed.
is there any thing else he could have sent and will the first refusal go against them if they apply again for visit visa. they have met in person in the philippines in january 2011.
wellcome your feed back

[grahamw48]

He sounds WELL-qualified as a sponsor.

Just needs to get himself organised (and into the 21st century with a pc ).

Oh...think I'd be hiding all those assets before I got married though.

[Terpe]

Hi there sammy.
There are a number of issues at play here, but reading into the reasons for refusal I would guess that the main reason was that of not having strong enough or compelling reasons to return to her home country. I would also guess that financials and accomodation is just a secondary issue that on it's own would not constitute refusal.
There is no need to send council tax statements.
On the face of it he appears to have sent plenty of supporting documents for his sponsorship.

The case that you describe involves g/f and b/f and visit visa. All high risk when it comes to a determination by the ECO about intention to return home.

There's no problem in making another application, but she will be required to disclose the visa refusal. Furthermore, she will really need to 'beef-up' her strong and compelling reasons to return home to Pinas. Unless she genuinely forgot to provide some important information supporting here intention to return, I feel that it may be quite a task to fiil those gaps any time soon.

One way she could possibly achieve a general visitor visa might be by way of an organised group UK tour. No need to mention her b/f in that case. Food for thought.

[sammy]

thanks guys for your feed back,
my friend will be visiting her in november 2011 again and i might suggest he takes her on a short international trip like thailand which will at least put a stamp on her passport. i did this on my process a couple of years ago and i am now living with my filipino wife in the uk. mabey this channel might work for him? and then apply again in november.
one more question, my friend really wants to spend time with his gf in the uk before they decide to get married if compatable and she can adjust to life here, so if he decides to go the fiancee route but for some good reason the wedding does not go ahead and she returns back home, would this jepardise her future fiancee or spouse visa if she applies again.

[Terpe]

.............. my friend really wants to spend time with his gf in the uk before they decide to get married ............................

I can really understand the logic behind this thinking. But also logically, if two people are convinced that the feelings they have for each other are strong enough to get married.... then surely it does not matter where the location is.

If we are compatible lets get married.
If you like UK we will get married, if not then goodbye?

Sorry for the harsh words. That's a hard fact of life when inter-cultural relationships are involved. Lots of 'learning' to be done on both sides..

By the way if the first fiancee visa did not result in the expected outcome, then a subsequent fiancee visa application would (in principle) be evaluated on it's own merits.

Hope this helps

[grahamw48]

I can really understand the logic behind this thinking. But also logically, if two people are convinced that the feelings they have for each other are strong enough to get married.... then surely it does not matter where the location is.

If we are compatible lets get married.
If you like UK we will get married, if not then goodbye?

Sorry for the harsh words. That's a hard fact of life when inter-cultural relationships are involved. Lots of 'learning' to be done on both sides..

By the way if the first fiancee visa did not result in the expected outcome, then a subsequent fiancee visa application would (in principle) be evaluated on it's own merits.

Hope this helps

Very true.

- Wish I could meet a rich Filipina who'd cart me off back there .

[sammy]

you are right Terpe, i have tried explaining this to him, i will be printing out these comments to show him. thanks

[joebloggs]

normally the embassy will give more than one reason for a refusal, but the refusal reason of not returning is a classic one..

family ties, a basic family tree showing most if notr all her family live in the phils should help, economic - does she work ?

the other reasons her b/f should be able to sort out by sending the correct evidence they asked for.

[sammy]

normally the embassy will give more than one reason for a refusal, but the refusal reason of not returning is a classic one..

family ties, a basic family tree showing most if notr all her family live in the phils should help, economic - does she work ?

the other reasons her b/f should be able to sort out by sending the correct evidence they asked for.

no she does not work, he supports her by sending about £200-£300 per month

[joebloggs]

oh and good news regarding your VV terpe

[Terpe]

oh and good news regarding your VV terpe

Joe, this a much bigger deal than you could ever imagine. One of these days I will divulge the background, the issues and how we achieved it. Amazing.

[joebloggs]

Joe, this a much bigger deal than you could ever imagine. One of these days I will divulge the background, the issues and how we achieved it. Amazing.

then for you and your sister in law
thou i'll be, in fact my wife will be applying for a visit visa for her aunt (who she treats as her mother) soon, thou i think we have a less than 50% chance, i'll put togther a visa app as best as i can

[grahamw48]

Please print this for him.

£200 to £300 a month ?

[sammy]

hahaha, like it

[Banana_80]

same here been refuse once before i know the feeling

[Steve.r]

same here been refuse once before i know the feeling

Interesting name you have, can you introduce yourself please. Tell us where you are from and some interesting things about you.

[Banana_80]

Interesting name you have, can you introduce yourself please. Tell us where you are from and some interesting things about you.

oh sorry wasnt able to introduce my self as i was just reading the post here and didnt realize to be able to reply i thread u should become a member
i am Lona..from Tagum City..married to english ang living here in the UK for 5 YEARS

[Nick30]

same here been refuse once before i know the feeling

Why was you refused Banana?

[turista]

Hi guys, newbie here. I thought I'd post here coz it's a related topic.

The British embassy in Manila refused my visit visa on the grounds that my bank account did not show sufficient funds. I think the ECO failed to see that I had actually given orig bank docs for dollar savings and peso time deposits which would cover the cost of my trip, plus payslips of my sisters who are UK citizens and work in the UK.

My dilemma is whether to file an appeal or to reapply straight away? Of course, I'd have to do a better job of explaining about my finances.

I've heard that appeals can take as long as 2 months. Or maybe I could file an appeal, wait 3 weeks, then reapply if I haven't received a response by then?

Thank you for your inputs.

[grahamw48]

May as well appeal....free isn't it ?

[Terpe]

If you really believe that the ECO has made a clear mistake with evaluating your financial standing I would suggest an immediate request to the ECM for reconsideration based upon the mistakes of the ECO.

Appeals can realistically take a long time and are available for Family Visits.

Considering the cost of the Family Visit Visa you may feel that re-application offers the optimum route.

Do be aware that ALL visitor visa's are notoriously tricky to secure.

What did the refusal state?
What duration did you request?
Did your sister sponsor you?
Did your sister supply full bank statements and accomodation details?

[turista]

What did the refusal state?
"you have only xx pesos in your bank account. You have not provided eviidence of your sponsor's available funds."
That bank account was my payroll account, only 1 of 3 accounts that I provided bank documents for (which the ECO didn't mention in his refusal).

I'm thinking whatever I do now, I should accompany it with a letter that clearly explains that I immediately withdraw my salary from my payroll account then transfer it to my other accounts, including the other 2 whose docs I gave to them. Those docs cover my fare and pocket money. I think I'll give statements of the other accounts I use to give a better money trail.



What duration did you request? -
- 2 weeks only, and my cert of employment clearly states I have 14 days leave every year

Did your sister sponsor you? Did your sister supply full bank statements and accomodation details?

Yes, I gave them a letter signed by her saying she'll pay for my expenses in the UK. We gave her orig payslips from the UK and her UK passport's bio-page, and bills to prove her address in the UK. I was wary of having them send bank papers to me but I guess I'll have to.


I've got another sister who lives with my sponsor and also works in the UK as a UK citizen. I gave the same types of papers - payslips, biopage of UK passport, rent bill as proof of address.

Do be aware that ALL visitor visa's are notoriously tricky to secure.
As I'm finding out. I had gotten a UK family visit visa back in 2001 (which I used), plus I still I have a valid US visa and I've traveled to other countries too since my '01 UK visit.

My sisters' letters also gave the address of our cousins in London. I guess I should include invites from them too and proofs of their addresses, coz they always welcome close relatives into their London homes.

[turista]

By the way, aside from bank documents and certs of employment, I also gave land titles as added proof of my long-term finl capacity and intent to come back here.

[Terpe]

By the way, aside from bank documents and certs of employment, I also gave land titles as added proof of my long-term finl capacity and intent to come back here.

If the refusal was made solely on financial standing and you claim that the refusal was made in error by the ECO then you should immediately request a reconsideration by the ECM (Manager) who has authority to overturn the ECO refusal and issue a visa for you.

Refusals usually cite more than a single issue.

Good luck