Spousal Visa Application - Pakistan (Timeline Only)

[abdulraheem123]

Salaam

my wife will be going to submit her application next week at Islamabad,
What i would to know is, When she arrives at the application center can someone go in with her, like her brother, and be with her all the way through or does she have to go in alone?

thanks for any help given

Gud luck brother may your wifes visa be granted strait away with no problems: from my knowledge only the applicant can go inside no one els

thanks
what about if she pays for the premium lounge service? can someone go inside with her? does anybody know please

[Girl786]

Salaam

my wife will be going to submit her application next week at Islamabad,
What i would to know is, When she arrives at the application center can someone go in with her, like her brother, and be with her all the way through or does she have to go in alone?

thanks for any help given

Gud luck brother may your wifes visa be granted strait away with no problems: from my knowledge only the applicant can go inside no one els

thanks
what about if she pays for the premium lounge service? can someone go inside with her? does anybody know please

Hey hi ! No one else can go with applicant . Else if thy ve passport . But relax urself as girls working there as well . & they tell u each n every thing step by step . So u dnt need to worrie .

[abdulraheem123]

Hey hi ! No one else can go with applicant . Else if thy ve passport . But relax urself as girls working there as well . & they tell u each n every thing step by step . So u dnt need to worrie .

thanks, do there check your application and then tell you if anything is missing from it?
or do there just take it and nothing else?

[Safikazmi12]

Salaam

my wife will be going to submit her application next week at Islamabad,
What i would to know is, When she arrives at the application center can someone go in with her, like her brother, and be with her all the way through or does she have to go in alone?

thanks for any help given

Salam Bro, when ur wife will go to visa application centre just request rhe authorities that my wife needs assistant so may be they wil allowed fellow person to go inside with her.

[Safikazmi12]

Hey hi ! No one else can go with applicant . Else if thy ve passport . But relax urself as girls working there as well . & they tell u each n every thing step by step . So u dnt need to worrie .

thanks, do there check your application and then tell you if anything is missing from it?
or do there just take it and nothing else?

They will just check tb test and english certificate and fee payment receipt.

[reeree]

Salaam

my wife will be going to submit her application next week at Islamabad,
What i would to know is, When she arrives at the application center can someone go in with her, like her brother, and be with her all the way through or does she have to go in alone?

thanks for any help given

Gud luck brother may your wifes visa be granted strait away with no problems: from my knowledge only the applicant can go inside no one els

thanks
what about if she pays for the premium lounge service? can someone go inside with her? does anybody know please

Dear Brother,

When my husband went to submit his application in Lahore,
I went inside with him because it was too hot outside & my husband refused to let me stand outside in the heat alone.
We also paid for the premium lounge service, and the lady at the desk checked through our full application & made sure we had enclosed all our supporting documents.
On the premium lounge service, you also get updates via text message about the progress of your application.
I would definitely recommend Premium Lounge service.

[t0mmy]

Applied at Isb a few days ago. Financial requirements ok. worried a bit about the accommodation req. only had 2-3 months left in rental contract . Let's seee
Looking at the last few posts there seems to be a big backlog.but have also noted an odd case of a quick decision within 3-4 weeks.
can anyone please advise how to check the status of the app. I gv my email address for update and a contact number - but till now only received an SMS message that the application has been forwarded to BHC?

[Faz1985ashraf]

salam to all

For the past few days I have been reading all of your stories to try and better understand my own situation. Please know I feel and understand what you all are going through because me and my wife who is sitting in Pakistan are also going though the same situation

I thought now would be a good time to tell everyone our story so that others can learn what not to do and insha allah my mistakes and successes will help someone.

So the story goes like this....

I am a British born Pakistani (3rd gen) and my wife is Pakistani currently living in Pakistan

We met thru family in November.... decided we were a very good match and agreed to get married.... engaged 01/12/13 and started planning the wedding which was to be held in Pakistan for obvious reasons.

We got married on 09/03/14 and then....

We applied for her visa 25/03/14.... at this stage I was still in Pakistan to ensure the application was perfect and correct.
I then booked her IELTS exam so that when she would arrive in the UK she could enter into the GMC PLAB exam.... I booked it for the 10/05/14 thinking the visa would take about a month or so to process and that would give her plenty of time to study for the exam and spend time with her family before she left.

On 04/04/14 she received a response from the UK border agency to collect documents... naturally we assumed the visa had arrived and in just 9 days! We were shocked... but to our surprise she was rejected, why? because she failed to met the English requirement! To be honest I accept the blame on this because even though her Degree was taught in full English and we also submitted a letter from the University confirming this... I failed to notice that you must get the qualification checked my NARIC UK!

So now we were in a dilemma.... what to do/. Appeal or reapply.... her IELTS exam was more than 28 days away and NARIC needed the degree certificate to do there comparison test. So I spoke to a UK based VISA consultation company and they kindly advised me to have her take the English test and reapply because it would be far quicker than appealing (6 months normally). So I decided to stomach another £885 and have her submit a new application after the English results arrive.

Results arrived towards the end of may so we submitted a new visa application on 03/06/14 and waited patiently.... I really thought it would arrive in a couple of weeks so I returned to Pakistan on 22/06/14 expecting the visa to arrive during my stay and so she could come home with me when I returned.

How wrong was I?

On 25/06/14 she received an email/letter/phone call explaining the delay.... same story as you guys home office appeal etc.... your application is on hold and will remain so till the hearing is complete.... your application is set to be refused on grounds of the minimum income threshold blah blah blah....

But then we found that they claimed that we failed to provide enough evidence!!! missing payslips? and also they required a letter from my company confirming my employment! This is what I sent:

14 payslips up until April 2014 (was unable to send May's as we applied before payslip arrived)
2 P60 certificates 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 proving my annual salary comfortably satisfied their min requirement
12 months bank statements showing all the deposits made by my employer

the only thing I failed to give is a letter from my employer but.... I have checked and checked again no where on the VISA website does it say you need to provide this, anyways it must be a British High Commission requirement.

So on 26/06/14 I emailed and posted a letter to the British High commission explaining my argument, but I knew I was wasting time....worth a try I guess.

So from Pakistan I contacted my company and they were kind enough to post me all the requirements:

Confirmation letter
March, April & May's payslips (the missing slips???!!!)
2013-2014 P60 certificate

On the 30/06/14 I forwarded the evidence with a covering letter via TCS to The British High Commission, and we received txt confirmation from TCS that the package was delivered to TBHC on 01/07/14

For your info always TCS anything in Pakistan its fast and cheap: next day delivery for 110 rupees

So that's the story so far.... I returned to London about a week ago and still no VISA, as most must be aware the appeals court upheld the Home office's decision on Friday 11/07/14 and they explain that all the 4000+ visa's on hold will now he checked and everyone will get a response after 28/07/14 so insha Allah our wait will soon be over.

I have noticed that there are people all over the globe in the same situation as most of us so please no one should feel that they are alone. Just ask for Allah's help and be patient, saying that I know some of you have been waiting for years not months...I've noticed if something is wrong or iffy with your documents then you will experience some delays. Also bare in mind that there was approx. 750 applications on hold in Pakistan alone.

Today I have emailed TBHC in Pakistan for confirmation on receiving the documents because I have seen that some people in India received confirmation emails on receipt of their additional documents. But I have also read that once you submit new documents that improve your case or basically show them you qualify they will give VISA... how long you have to wait??? Only Allah knows that.

Well anyways that's everything....

Insha Allah someone will learn from our mistakes and remember if all your paperwork is perfect and you provide all the evidence they need your VISA is normally issued in 2-3 weeks but obviously it can take longer... It is really a lucky dip I think. If anyone can provide me with more information that would allow me to understand our situation better... please share with me.

ALSO NOTE THAT THE BRITISH HIGH COMMSIION IN PAKISTAN HAVE A HABIT OF LOOSING EVIDENCE.. WHO KNOWS IF THEY DO IT ON PURPOSE BUT IT SEEMS TO BE MAJOR ISSUE OVER THERE!!! MAKE COPIES OF EVERYTHING YOU SEND AND KEEP SAFE JUST INCASE!


Thank you for reading

Salam

Faisal

[th3]

Thanks to everyone on here greatly. I am extremely happy for those that received good news - I felt as if I got it! Equally, I cannot help but feel the pain of those that didn't. Be strong and continue fighting - never give up!
It's so refreshing to see that we CAN stick by and help one another in times of need (as Muslims should do all the time). And special thanks to the brothers and sisters who replied with encouragement. It really helps!!

As you might remember, I earnt just over 20k from a FT job but altho I have no reply yet except that they are waiting on an ECO to take my case, it will most likely fail due to me being at the same job thru agency before being taken on by the company as permanent. 1.5 month of the wageslips were whilst I was agency.

Secondly, my job was P/H based, and basic hours was only 16.8k. I reached 20k thru overtime.

Since I lost my position 2 month after handing the case, and decreased my hours, I cannot re-apply and go thru all this again. It's been +3 years already, simply too long. I will just move to Ireland/Malta.

IIRC, 5 years of marriage and together, and, the rules for application are different... I think.

[musriz]

Thanks to everyone on here greatly. I am extremely happy for those that received good news - I felt as if I got it! Equally, I cannot help but feel the pain of those that didn't. Be strong and continue fighting - never give up!
It's so refreshing to see that we CAN stick by and help one another in times of need (as Muslims should do all the time). And special thanks to the brothers and sisters who replied with encouragement. It really helps!!

As you might remember, I earnt just over 20k from a FT job but altho I have no reply yet except that they are waiting on an ECO to take my case, it will most likely fail due to me being at the same job thru agency before being taken on by the company as permanent. 1.5 month of the wageslips were whilst I was agency.

Secondly, my job was P/H based, and basic hours was only 16.8k. I reached 20k thru overtime.

Since I lost my position 2 month after handing the case, and decreased my hours, I cannot re-apply and go thru all this again. It's been +3 years already, simply too long. I will just move to Ireland/Malta.

IIRC, 5 years of marriage and together, and, the rules for application are different... I think.

Brother plz look into Surinder Singh Route.

[musriz]

Faz1985 - brother it is very easy to make simple mistakes.
Its best to follow the guidance notes in Appendix FM.
It is clearly stated you need send a letter from your employer or employment contract.

All the best.

[t0mmy]

Faz1985 - brother it is very easy to make simple mistakes.
Its best to follow the guidance notes in Appendix FM.
It is clearly stated you need send a letter from your employer or employment contract.

All the best.

Regarding the employment letter - I have submitted mine but is dated 2 months before the application submission date. Would it be a problem ? My payslips are up todate though

[abdulraheem123]

Dear Brother,

When my husband went to submit his application in Lahore,
I went inside with him because it was too hot outside & my husband refused to let me stand outside in the heat alone.
We also paid for the premium lounge service, and the lady at the desk checked through our full application & made sure we had enclosed all our supporting documents.
On the premium lounge service, you also get updates via text message about the progress of your application.
I would definitely recommend Premium Lounge service.

Thanks
i have also paid for the Premium Lounge service, but on the appointment confirmation that i got there is no mention that i have paid this. just the amount i have paid of £885.
Is this what you had? or was there mention of the Premium Lounge service on the appointment confirmation paper

[zeeh]

People who doesn't meet income, if your spouse is educated why not get them in uk on student visa and then follow humanitarian path, i have very good example of two families who have follow through this route and gain success.
The Surinder Singh route involves living and working elsewhere. Surinder Singh (Case C-370/90), Mrs Singh worked for about two years in Germany.
while Akrich (Case C-291/01), Mrs Akrich had worked in Ireland for six months before trying to return home to the UK with her husband using the Surinder Singh route. but!!!!!!Mrs Akrich’s husband to return to the UK with his British spouse using the Surinder Singh route failed because the Court ruled that the EU free movement rules could only be relied upon by non-EU family members who had lawfully resided in an EU country. This was not the case of Mr Akrich, who had been deported from the UK several times and was the subject of a ban on re-entry.Akirch case was later overturned on this specific point in Metock (Case C-127/08, para. 58)
The Surinder Singh route is not suitable for our Girls yes boys can try.

[zeeh]

This really bad to know visa process timing in Pakistan are worst than Congo, Malawi. 60 days= 100%
i have strong feeling that Minimum income threshold law is only for and delays for Pakistani national.

[reeree]

Dear Brother,

When my husband went to submit his application in Lahore,
I went inside with him because it was too hot outside & my husband refused to let me stand outside in the heat alone.
We also paid for the premium lounge service, and the lady at the desk checked through our full application & made sure we had enclosed all our supporting documents.
On the premium lounge service, you also get updates via text message about the progress of your application.
I would definitely recommend Premium Lounge service.

Thanks
i have also paid for the Premium Lounge service, but on the appointment confirmation that i got there is no mention that i have paid this. just the amount i have paid of £885.
Is this what you had? or was there mention of the Premium Lounge service on the appointment confirmation paper

I'm not sure about this, as i upgraded to
Premium lounge on the day of my appointment whent the lady who was submitting my application told me about the service.
So because i paid cash, she gave me a cash reciept for the payment.
I don't think this is a service offered by BHC.
I think this is just a service which is offerd by the local authority who process ur application & do all the extra checks for u which is why it probably doesn't show. I'm not 100% sure, sorry :/

[reeree]

salam to all

For the past few days I have been reading all of your stories to try and better understand my own situation. Please know I feel and understand what you all are going through because me and my wife who is sitting in Pakistan are also going though the same situation

I thought now would be a good time to tell everyone our story so that others can learn what not to do and insha allah my mistakes and successes will help someone.

So the story goes like this....

I am a British born Pakistani (3rd gen) and my wife is Pakistani currently living in Pakistan

We met thru family in November.... decided we were a very good match and agreed to get married.... engaged 01/12/13 and started planning the wedding which was to be held in Pakistan for obvious reasons.

We got married on 09/03/14 and then....

We applied for her visa 25/03/14.... at this stage I was still in Pakistan to ensure the application was perfect and correct.
I then booked her IELTS exam so that when she would arrive in the UK she could enter into the GMC PLAB exam.... I booked it for the 10/05/14 thinking the visa would take about a month or so to process and that would give her plenty of time to study for the exam and spend time with her family before she left.

On 04/04/14 she received a response from the UK border agency to collect documents... naturally we assumed the visa had arrived and in just 9 days! We were shocked... but to our surprise she was rejected, why? because she failed to met the English requirement! To be honest I accept the blame on this because even though her Degree was taught in full English and we also submitted a letter from the University confirming this... I failed to notice that you must get the qualification checked my NARIC UK!

So now we were in a dilemma.... what to do/. Appeal or reapply.... her IELTS exam was more than 28 days away and NARIC needed the degree certificate to do there comparison test. So I spoke to a UK based VISA consultation company and they kindly advised me to have her take the English test and reapply because it would be far quicker than appealing (6 months normally). So I decided to stomach another £885 and have her submit a new application after the English results arrive.

Results arrived towards the end of may so we submitted a new visa application on 03/06/14 and waited patiently.... I really thought it would arrive in a couple of weeks so I returned to Pakistan on 22/06/14 expecting the visa to arrive during my stay and so she could come home with me when I returned.

How wrong was I?

On 25/06/14 she received an email/letter/phone call explaining the delay.... same story as you guys home office appeal etc.... your application is on hold and will remain so till the hearing is complete.... your application is set to be refused on grounds of the minimum income threshold blah blah blah....

But then we found that they claimed that we failed to provide enough evidence!!! missing payslips? and also they required a letter from my company confirming my employment! This is what I sent:

14 payslips up until April 2014 (was unable to send May's as we applied before payslip arrived)
2 P60 certificates 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 proving my annual salary comfortably satisfied their min requirement
12 months bank statements showing all the deposits made by my employer

the only thing I failed to give is a letter from my employer but.... I have checked and checked again no where on the VISA website does it say you need to provide this, anyways it must be a British High Commission requirement.

So on 26/06/14 I emailed and posted a letter to the British High commission explaining my argument, but I knew I was wasting time....worth a try I guess.

So from Pakistan I contacted my company and they were kind enough to post me all the requirements:

Confirmation letter
March, April & May's payslips (the missing slips???!!!)
2013-2014 P60 certificate

On the 30/06/14 I forwarded the evidence with a covering letter via TCS to The British High Commission, and we received txt confirmation from TCS that the package was delivered to TBHC on 01/07/14

For your info always TCS anything in Pakistan its fast and cheap: next day delivery for 110 rupees

So that's the story so far.... I returned to London about a week ago and still no VISA, as most must be aware the appeals court upheld the Home office's decision on Friday 11/07/14 and they explain that all the 4000+ visa's on hold will now he checked and everyone will get a response after 28/07/14 so insha Allah our wait will soon be over.

I have noticed that there are people all over the globe in the same situation as most of us so please no one should feel that they are alone. Just ask for Allah's help and be patient, saying that I know some of you have been waiting for years not months...I've noticed if something is wrong or iffy with your documents then you will experience some delays. Also bare in mind that there was approx. 750 applications on hold in Pakistan alone.

Today I have emailed TBHC in Pakistan for confirmation on receiving the documents because I have seen that some people in India received confirmation emails on receipt of their additional documents. But I have also read that once you submit new documents that improve your case or basically show them you qualify they will give VISA... how long you have to wait??? Only Allah knows that.

Well anyways that's everything....

Insha Allah someone will learn from our mistakes and remember if all your paperwork is perfect and you provide all the evidence they need your VISA is normally issued in 2-3 weeks but obviously it can take longer... It is really a lucky dip I think. If anyone can provide me with more information that would allow me to understand our situation better... please share with me.

ALSO NOTE THAT THE BRITISH HIGH COMMSIION IN PAKISTAN HAVE A HABIT OF LOOSING EVIDENCE.. WHO KNOWS IF THEY DO IT ON PURPOSE BUT IT SEEMS TO BE MAJOR ISSUE OVER THERE!!! MAKE COPIES OF EVERYTHING YOU SEND AND KEEP SAFE JUST INCASE!


Thank you for reading

Salam

Faisal

Dear brother Faisal,

Reading ur story, reminded me of exactly what my perception was of immigration before i became involved in the waiting game like all other members on here.

We are so naive and believe that although there may be a backlog of 500,000 applications, our spouses application will sail through. But that isnt the case.
I was bitterly disappointed like you.
After spending the last 10mnths of my newly married life on my own, i've also came to realisation that we are all just a number on their books.

That does not mean lose hope, but take it as a wake up call.
Progression with BHC is very slow. Dont have expectations, as it only leads to disappointment!

I did the exact same thing as u, flew out to pakistan 3months after my husband submitted his app - hoping he would get his visa & we would return together. But 6months after my return, im still waiting!

With that said;
A friend of a friend who got married after me.. Submitted his wifes application 2months after me managed to get his wife over to the UK within 6 WEEKS!
But fortunately for him, he knew someone who worked at the Home Office - who got his wifes application seen too!

Lucky for him eh!

If only...we all had friends who worked at the Home Office who owed us favors!
What a jolly good day it would be indeed!!

Anyway, goodluck with ur wifes app!
Dnt give up.
Contact ur local MP & get them to escalate ur wifes application for a quicker response. It should help!

[qadz]

Hello everyone,
Applied on 18th Feb 2014,
Forwarded to BHC on 3rd March 2014,
and still waiting ..
Contacted ukvi ,and thats what i got
"Thank you for contacting UK Visas and Immigration international enquiry
service.
Your visa application has not been processed yet. We are waiting for an
entry clearance officer to access your application."
Anyone with similar response? How much time it can take further?
Moreover, can we contact to our local MP before the period of 120 Days or not?

[abdulraheem123]

salaam all

does anybody know what takes place when you enter the visa application centre?

[Beena]

Thanks to everyone on here greatly. I am extremely happy for those that received good news - I felt as if I got it! Equally, I cannot help but feel the pain of those that didn't. Be strong and continue fighting - never give up!
It's so refreshing to see that we CAN stick by and help one another in times of need (as Muslims should do all the time). And special thanks to the brothers and sisters who replied with encouragement. It really helps!!

As you might remember, I earnt just over 20k from a FT job but altho I have no reply yet except that they are waiting on an ECO to take my case, it will most likely fail due to me being at the same job thru agency before being taken on by the company as permanent. 1.5 month of the wageslips were whilst I was agency.

Secondly, my job was P/H based, and basic hours was only 16.8k. I reached 20k thru overtime.

Since I lost my position 2 month after handing the case, and decreased my hours, I cannot re-apply and go thru all this again. It's been +3 years already, simply too long. I will just move to Ireland/Malta.

IIRC, 5 years of marriage and together, and, the rules for application are different... I think.

Brother plz look into Surinder Singh Route.

What is the SS route???

[qadz]

Thanks to everyone on here greatly. I am extremely happy for those that received good news - I felt as if I got it! Equally, I cannot help but feel the pain of those that didn't. Be strong and continue fighting - never give up!
It's so refreshing to see that we CAN stick by and help one another in times of need (as Muslims should do all the time). And special thanks to the brothers and sisters who replied with encouragement. It really helps!!

As you might remember, I earnt just over 20k from a FT job but altho I have no reply yet except that they are waiting on an ECO to take my case, it will most likely fail due to me being at the same job thru agency before being taken on by the company as permanent. 1.5 month of the wageslips were whilst I was agency.

Secondly, my job was P/H based, and basic hours was only 16.8k. I reached 20k thru overtime.

Since I lost my position 2 month after handing the case, and decreased my hours, I cannot re-apply and go thru all this again. It's been +3 years already, simply too long. I will just move to Ireland/Malta.

IIRC, 5 years of marriage and together, and, the rules for application are different... I think.

Brother plz look into Surinder Singh Route.

What is the SS route???

Beena our timeline is quite similar, Did they put your application on hold or what?

[Ket1]

who submitted extra document but still have not been told for definite if there case is on hold?
don't no whether to pull out now and re apply or wait? already been waiting since October don't want to waste more time if it ends up being a no.

[sumeensaleem]

Hi again

i submitted visa on 28/02/2014
docs forwarded to BHC on the 10/03/2014

still awaiting response.

my annual income was £19,000. i had two jobs.
will my application be on hold or refused on 28/07/2014?

Regards
sumeen saleem

[Ket1]

Hi again

i submitted visa on 28/02/2014
docs forwarded to BHC on the 10/03/2014

still awaiting response.

my annual income was £19,000. i had two jobs.
will my application be on hold or refused on 28/07/2014?

Regards
sumeen saleem

no this refusal is only if you received a letter sayn ur application is on hold prior to this
if evrythings fym, ther should be no problem for u inshallah do duwa as u havnt received an answer yet

[saf786]

i just wanted to share this with you because i feel this just shows that they really ar not being precise and ANYBODY randomly just emails you back with any information they can get hold of regarding your applications

basically my case has been on hold since october when i was told that my further documents had not been accepted so i waited and waited, then in june i decided to send more documents which were all relevant to my applications. after i had sent these i emailed my mp to ask him to trace this and see whether they had accepted the documents. My mp emailed me back to inform me that my application was on hold but in the end he also mentioned that the HO had recieved addiotnal documents. they had wrote. ' i confirm that the entry clearance officer at the post has recieved addtional documents. further consideratrion will now be geven to Mr N case, however if the financial requirements is not met, his application will remain on hold.'

so i thought fine...gave it a go ..nothing to lose

after fridays judgement i emailed them to ask if my documents had been assessed

this morning at 10:43 i received this email

Thank you for your e-mail of 30 June 2014 enquiring about the progress of your application.
Your application is on hold due to minimum income threshold and the final decision will be taken in due course. I regret to say that we cannot give you precise timeframe at present, please wait to be contacted.

then at 10:47 i received this email

Thank you for your e-mail enquiring about the progress of your application. I can confirm that we have received additional documents on 20 June and forwarded to the relevant team for further process. Please note that your application is currently being processed but we cannot make a decision until all of our checks have been completed. We will do this as soon as we can but cannot give you precise timeframe at present.

NOTE: Please do not reply to this email address in future. For all future enquiries about UK visas you should visit www.ukvi-international.faq-help.com in the first instance

dont know what to make out of this ...dont want to get my hopes up... and i am actual ready for a refusal hoping to appeal