I have had a lot of problems with the visa section. Actually my in-laws had which means I had. Every few years one might visit for a few weeks to a few months and each time visa staff can find reasons to make it difficult for them.
You have only 5 months validity on your passport. No, I don't care if your sister is ill in hospital and this is an urgent visit and that you intend to stay 3 weeks only, go away and come back with a new passport.
Bring us the registration documents of your husbands' vehicles so that we can see just how rich you are.
Come back again and bring the title deed of your property. Yes we know you came to UK before and you are now want to visit your daughter who is ill in hospital but the rules say that you must have another interview.
No we cannot permit you to go to the UK because I don't think you are serious about your studies and you only want to go there to look for a husband.
These are the sorts of things that the visa section say to my in-laws (my words though). It stems from 8 years ago when I faxed a letter of complaint to the embassy when I learnt that my sister-in-law was queuing outside the embasy for more than a week to process her application. She was refused entry. Coincidence? Since then 4 other applications from different members of the family have been blessed with obstructive bureaucracy and each time I had to ask my MP to intervene. I took the last case to the Parliamentary Commissioner of Administrative Affairs but being part of the establishment he was not on my side. I also asked for all the information they had on me under the Data Protection Act because I felt that their applications were being compromised by my earlier complaint. I certainly did not get all the info and anyway this sort of thing won't get written down.
I have now informed the Visa Section that we shall continue submitting all the papers that we are supposed to submit but if they want extra ones then they should state in writing the reason why. After all they should be as open to us as they want us to be with them. Hindi ba?
Another sister-in-law intends to visit in the new year and I have already contacted the visa section and my MP so if there is any funny business then I'm ready to fight. If necessary I'll accompany her to the interview.
It seems that if you complain then you jeopardise the visa application. The embassy has a file on me but they know that I pay my taxes and have no criminal record so can they continue to find reasons to obstruct all my wife's family coming here? She has a large family. Let's see if their imagination can keep up.
My suggestion to everyone else who will experience similar problems is to contact your MP, write to F. & C.O., insist that the Entry Clearance Officer provides a written explanation to the decision. If you know that you are in the right then persist. Just make sure that you supply every possible bit of information so that they don't have the excuse to send the applicant away and return with bits of paper that have no relevance whatsoever to the application. I have doubts whether they even read them or can tell whether or not they are genuine.
Might be interesting to hear all the things that happen to other visa applicants.
I wonder how Blunkett managed to fast-track the entry clearance for that nanny? I suppose it's down to who you know but for us ordinary citizens with no connections ....?
