US Citizen General Visitor Visa denied - just fly to UK?

[gemology]

Hi everyone, your help with the below would be much appreciated because right now I am very upset.

My partner is a US citizen and has just been informed that her application for a General Visitor Visa has been denied. We are currently waiting for her documents to be returned along with the reason for the decision.

I think that a couple of likely issues are that I was paying for travel and she was going to be staying with me. I sent in all required financial information to show that I am more than able to afford this, however I know this is not actually a requirement for a General Visitor Visa. Now I think even mentioning that she is my partner was a mistake.

Also I think that there may not have been enough financial evidence relating to my partner (despite her providing 6 months of payslips), and not enough to show that she has ties to the US to prove she will return there (although all she has there is a job and family which I don't think they consider to be enough).

Now we are considering just having her fly into the UK and get her visa stamp at the airport, rather than reapplying. She will being all the documentation relating to her previous visa application (excluding the stuff about me) plus probably a couple hotel bookings and a rough itinerary and return ticket. She would not mention me at all, other than a friend she may stay with a couple of times as part of her itinerary.

If we can address the concerns identified in her rejection letter, would it be likely she will be allowed into the UK? Would the fact that her application was denied be an issue at UK Border Control?

She also has a misdemeanor (albeit minor, which just involved a small fine), which might add another complication.

As with many couples, we were hoping to use a period of up to 6 months to live together and get to know each other better before considering getting engaged. We are both heartbroken and any advice on how to get her here as soon as possible, with minimal risk of rejection, would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you.

[Casa]

The general visitor visa refusal will be on the UKVI system which will flag up on arrival at UK Border control where she is almost certainly going to be 'bounced' and returned on the next available flight to the US. There will be little point in her withholding the existence of your relationship, in fact it would be very risky to do so. Firstly, all information submitted in her failed application will be available to the Immigration Entry Officer and secondly if you later decide to apply for a settlement visa she will have to submit evidence of the relationship to prove it is genuine, including the length of time your relationship has subsisted. You would be in a situation of now you see it, now you don't and now you see it again!

[gemology]

Hi Casa,

Thanks for your response.

So with our circumstances, what do you think our best option or options are?

Also do you know whether she will have to go to Homeland Security again to redo all the biometric stuff (even though she only did that just over a month ago)?

[Casa]

You could try submitting another visitor visa application, addressing the issues that you believe may have resulted in a refusal. I believe Biometrics are required for each application, but others with direct experience may advise otherwise.

[ban.s]

Hi everyone,

My partner, who lives in the US, has just been refused a General Visit Visa for the usual reasons - not enough of her own money and not demonstrating strong enough links to her home country to make them think she will return there.

We are going to reapply, but I don't want the application to fail again. We are working on the money side of things, but any guidance you could offer on documentary evidence which could show strong links to her home would be appreciated.

At 23, she doesn't own any property or have any dependants and although her employer wrote a letter saying her job will be kept open for her, this wasn't good enough, particularly as the Officer didn't consider it to be a 'high profession' (which I think is both patronising and overly judgemental - this is the only job she is able to get at the moment due to a lack of qualifications).

Her name is on the lease of a rental property but I'm not sure whether this holds any sway seeing as she is intending to leave it for up to six months.

She does have a large family to whom she is very close (5 siblings and 11 nieces/nephews plus parents). Her Father has been left disabled by a stroke and her Grandmother has dementia which is becoming quite serious. She provides some support to her Mother in caring for her Father and Grandmother (both money and time) but this is on a casual basis with no hard evidence.

Please, please if you have any relevant experience of a similar situation or any pointers they would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

[Wanderer]

As with many couples, we were hoping to use a period of up to 6 months to live together and get to know each other better before considering getting engaged. We are both heartbroken and any advice on how to get her here as soon as possible, with minimal risk of rejection, would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you.

A visit visa is not a resident visa, you can't use it as such, UK has no visa that covers this scenario. Thereby she fails the primary test - is she a 'genuine visitor', answer - no, she intends to live here albeit for only six months.

[gemology]

Yes Wanderer I am aware that there is no visa to cover this scenario but my only other alternative is to get engaged, start planning a wedding and pay almost £900 for a visa so she can stay with me longer term. We've only been together six months - not sure that an application of that nature would be looked upon favourably either and I don't have that amount of money to waste.

She will be visiting the UK to experience the culture and way of life and to see the sights, as any other tourist would. However she is doing this with a slightly different mindset in that we may marry at a later date and if she likes it here during her visit then she would try to move here more permanently, with the appropriate visa.

[Wanderer]

Yes Wanderer I am aware that there is no visa to cover this scenario but my only other alternative is to get engaged, start planning a wedding and pay almost £900 for a visa so she can stay with me longer term. We've only been together six months - not sure that an application of that nature would be looked upon favourably either and I don't have that amount of money to waste.

She will be visiting the UK to experience the culture and way of life and to see the sights, as any other tourist would. However she is doing this with a slightly different mindset in that we may marry at a later date and if she likes it here during her visit then she would try to move here more permanently, with the appropriate visa.

Spouse/fiance visas are almost never denied providing the criteria are met, I understand what you say, I was in the same boat (we used student visas to live together on) but thems the rules, and the last thing you want is black marks on her passport on day one.

Consider a student visa (costly tho), or maybe BUNAC - I know nothing about BUNAC but it favours Americans coming to UK, you'll need to google it...

[gemology]

Yes Wanderer I am aware that there is no visa to cover this scenario but my only other alternative is to get engaged, start planning a wedding and pay almost £900 for a visa so she can stay with me longer term. We've only been together six months - not sure that an application of that nature would be looked upon favourably either and I don't have that amount of money to waste.

She will be visiting the UK to experience the culture and way of life and to see the sights, as any other tourist would. However she is doing this with a slightly different mindset in that we may marry at a later date and if she likes it here during her visit then she would try to move here more permanently, with the appropriate visa.

Spouse/fiance visas are almost never denied providing the criteria are met, I understand what you say, I was in the same boat (we used student visas to live together on) but thems the rules, and the last thing you want is black marks on her passport on day one.

Consider a student visa (costly tho), or maybe BUNAC - I know nothing about BUNAC but it favours Americans coming to UK, you'll need to google it...

Thanks for your suggestions Wanderer. Unfortunately with zero qualifications I doubt she will be eligible for any kind of student visa. I've had a quick look at BUNAC, will require further reading but again I'm not sure it's appropriate in this case.

In terms of meeting the criteria for spouse/finacé visas, I think most of it would be ok - my savings and salary more than satisfy the financial requirements, I would be able to make enquiries with registry offices etc. but the key issue for me is how to prove we are in a genuine relationship, and how long this has been for. I have visited her but other than that, the entire relationship has been conducted via Skype, chat apps (for which I don't have a long history) and Facebook. What other evidence could be provided? I would be willing to apply for this type of visa if there was a good chance of success.

[ouflak1]

...I have visited her but other than that, ...

If you can demonstrate this, you already have a lot more than a good number of other people who have posted on here asking for advice in similar situations.

[gemology]

...I have visited her but other than that, ...

If you can demonstrate this, you already have a lot more than a good number of other people who have posted on here asking for advice in similar situations.

Thanks for the reply Ouflak1.

Yes I can demonstrate it with ticket stubs and receipts, hotel booking and photos.

I just need to know whether 6 months would be considered long enough to have been a couple and whether I need to prove when we got together. I don't think I have any of the old message history from back then. Besides evidence of my visit, what kind of information are they likely to be looking for to prove our relationship?