Reasons for UK Visa Refusal

Some of very common visa refusal reasons:

Visitors not confident on the duration of stay, place of stay and sufficient funds to support the stay. Visitors / Migrants using false/forged documents or have lied during their interviews can be banned from entry to the UK for upto 10 years.

Another common reason for refusal was "you wish to go to the UK for a holiday. You have never previously undertaken any foreign travel before and I can see little reason for this trip".

There is a case of a person whose request was rejected by an officer because they had "little or no idea what you plan to see or do". This was, because the person had answered the question on a form asking why they were going to the UK, with the words "annual leave vacation".

To ensure your visa is not rejected, ensure you provide all the documents in original , where possible (with each photo copy of the documents listed here.) Avoid scanned and faxed copies.


Note: Visa refusal rate is quite high in Southern part of India, especially for people applying from Hyderabad ( due to rise in forged / fake documents). It is as high as 30% for Dependant visas and 50% for visitor visas. Although the VFS claim the same to be less than 10% overall.

Once rejected you, need to re-apply paying the full visa fees again. Some applicant's do get a chance to appeal the decision with additional information or proofs, within 28 days of receiving the refusal. If the visa is refused, it best to re-apply, to avoid any additional agony and time.

Appeals are lodged with Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, in P.O Box 7866, Loughborough LE 11 2XZ, this usually takes 2-3 months and can go even longer.) or through the British High Commission application centre.


Actual Visa refusal Note: (taken from a rejected dependant visa in May '08)
"You have not given reasonable evidence that suitable accommodation has been provided for you by your sponsor. So, I am not satisfied that this meets the reuirements of the Housing Act 1985 and that there will be enough room for you and any dependant.


You have not provided enough evidence to show your sponsor owns or rents property in which you plan to live, or that mortgage or rent payments are being made. Without this, I am not satisfied that the accommodation is secure, or that you can live in the accommodation without using public funds.
You have not provided any payslips or satisfactory evidence of regualr expenditure demonstrating that your sponsor is able to support you. I am not satisfied that you or your sponsor will be able to support you in the UK without working or using public funds."

Appeals


Once Visa has been refused. Your next action:

Prevention is better than cure, and most definitely so in the case of visa applications. It is essential that every visa application is planned and checked thoroughly by a person with the necessary expertise and experience in the field of immigration, as a seemingly irrelevant or incorrect detail or omission on a visa application can lead to a visa being turned down.

Visa applicants should therefore take the utmost care to ensure they are making use of reputable immigration firms or consultants, in order to prevent the frustration of a visa being turned down, not to mention the time and expense involved in re-applying or filing an appeal.

However, getting it right first time round is the best, all is not lost if your initial application is refused. Although there are risks and costs involved, in most cases an appeal or review of the decision is possible, and in many cases a successful result can be obtained.

If you recently had your Visa application denied or turned down, it is possible to lodge an appeal if you have been;

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  refused entry clearance;
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  refused entry to the United Kingdom;
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  refused an extension of stay;
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  been deprived of UK citizenship;
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  received a notice of deportation or;
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  received a notice of removal.

According to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, there are a number of rights and grounds upon which appeals can be brought. Some of these grounds, which are set out in s. 84 of the Act, are as follows;

• the decision was not in accordance with immigration rules;
• the decision is unlawful according to the Race Relations Act 1976;
• the decision is unlawful under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and therefore not in accordance with your rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR);
• the decision breaches your rights as an EEA national or the family member of an EEA national under the Community Treaties;
• the decision-maker incorrectly exercised discretion under the Immigration Rules;
• or your removal from the UK would breach the UK’s obligation under the Geneva Convention on refugees or be unlawful under s. 6 of the HRA as being incompatible with your Convention Rights.

First things, first


Once you have been refused leave to enter or remain in the UK, the decision-maker (whether an entry clearance officer, immigration officer or the Secretary of State) will give you a written Notice.
This will include a statement of the reasons for the decision. If you are to be removed from the UK, the Notice will also state the country to which you are to be removed and it must also be accompanied or include the following:

• a statement advising you of your rights to appeal and the Statutory Provision upon which this right is based;
• the time limit for bringing your appeal;
• the address to which the appeal needs to be sent;
• a fax number for service by fax;
• whether there is an exception or limitation to your right of appeal;
• and whether further information is required under s.120.

You will also need to decide whether you wish your appeal to be decided at an oral or written hearing. Once your appeal forms are completed, you can send it either to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) or sometimes if you are outside the UK, to the British High Commission or Embassy in your country of application. The AIT is an independent tribunal and therefore it is not affiliated with the Home Office in any way.

If you are within the UK, your appeal should be filed with the AIT within 5 working days of receiving the Notice of Decision if you are in detention and within 10 working days if you are not. If, however, you are outside of the UK, your appeal must be received by the AIT or British High Commission or Embassy within 28 days (including holidays and non-business days) from when you received the Notice of Decision. Due to these time constraints it is strongly suggested that you contact one of our Visa Advisors as soon as you possibly can, as they are experienced in dealing with these deadlines.

Your Notice of Appeal is lodged. What next?

Once you have filed your appeal forms and supporting documents, the Entry Clearance Office which decided your case will review its original decision. If the review maintains the original decision, for non-settlement cases, the Entry Clearance Office (if you are outside of the UK) should take up to 8 weeks (11 weeks if lodged with AIT directly) to prepare the necessary documentation for your appeal.
If, however, your case is a settlement case it should take up to 16 weeks (19 weeks if lodged with AIT directly) and if it is for a visit visa, then it should take 12 weeks (15 weeks if lodged directly with AIT) to prepare the necessary documentation.

Will I need to go to the court?

If, following discussions with us, you have opted for an oral hearing, you will receive a copy of the Appeal bundle of the Entry Clearance Office or AIT documentation in advance of the hearing date. Breytenbachs will prepare all the necessary documentation for your hearing during this time, even if you are not within the UK at the time. We will attend the hearing on your behalf. Therefore if you are outside of the UK your appeal will still go ahead.

If you are within the UK, you will need to attend the hearing as main witness. If you have a sponsor, your sponsor can also attend the hearing as a witness in addition to you or in your absence. If you are attending the hearing, you should allow for the whole day, as appeals are not heard in a specific order on the day.

What happens after the appeal that has come and gone?

If you have attended an oral hearing, sometimes the Immigration Judge will give his decision at the end of the hearing but usually decisions are reserved and take 2 – 3 weeks to be received in writing. All appeal decisions are given in writing and are effective from date of written determination or promulgation. Where there has been no oral hearing the Judges’ determination will also be received in writing.


A word of Caution: Be wary of getting into the tarp of fake UK passports, IDs, Driving Licenses, as they have very high security feature and can be easily detected. UK Passports have a new security chip in it having all the details of the holder and hence unlikely to be forged.


Denial of Entry:
You can be denied entry on your arrival to the UK, even though you have a valid UK visa. The Immigration Officer, on various grounds refuse you entry, vis-a-vis your reason for entry, finances, local contact etc. The IO will give you reasonable time to put your case forward. If IO is not satisfied you would be provided with a written letter explaining the reasons for refusal. The airline which brought the visitor in will be asked to take the visitor to their home country.

Airlines pay for the return ticket in this and not the UK Immigration.




May 2010:

Refusal Due to False Documents:


Original transcript of denial from ECO / UK Home office for submitting false MBA certificates:


Candidate had applied under Tier 1 General category


"In your application you, submitted false MBA and marks sheets from Magadh. I am satisfied that they are false because of check made by the deputy high commission on 29/3/10 and 30/3/10. As false documents have been submitted in relation to your application, it is refused under paragraph 320(7a) of the immigration rules. 


Any future applications will also be automatically refused, for the same reason, under paragraph 320(7b) of the UK immigration rules HC395 (as amended) until 13/4/2020, unless a concession applies. Because you have been refused under paragraph 320, the application automatically falls to be refused under paragraph 245(b) of the immigration rules HC 395 as amended."


Although the above restriction on paper is for 10 years, it could well mean a ban for lifetime from entering the UK. There may be an option to appeal against such a decision, a candidate faces a daunting task of hiring an counsel in the UK to represent him/her, spend a lot of time and money on this. Which can take several months to reach a conclusion.

July 2010:


Example of a student visa refusal, to a student applying to extend the student visa to return to London to complete studies or dissertation. The reasons sited were three,

1. Illegible document from the University (unclear scanning and absence of original document), hence doubting the authenticity of the document.

2. Unclear and without enough explanation for delay in education within the stipulated 18 months of course duration.

3. Bank statements submitted of a person but without stating the relations with the applicant.

8th Feb 2016:

Friends off late, I have not been writing too much on the blog about visa refusal. But I would like to share that the UK remains a strict nation when it comes to issuing visas not just work related but visitors as well. There are other European countries which do not ask you as many questions as the UK Home office does, even for a short visitor visa. I would say, if you do not want your hard earned many to go in vain, please read my blog as much as possible and pay attention to detail on the key documents that are required to make your application successful. 

Key aspect is they do not want people to come to UK and overstay or depend financially on the UK public funds. Which is easier said then done. You need to prove that you do not intend to stay for long and are financially healthy as well. A sudden spurt in your account balance raises eyebrows with the UK Home office. Maintain a consistent balance and plan at least 6 months in advance before you actually travel to the UK, especially for tourism. This is one visa people get complacent about, falter and loose not just money but also valuable time.

All the best and write to me for any help you need.