Visa application mistake regarding employment status.

[Dylmar]

Hi,

I’m writing on behalf of a friend called David who is in the process of trying to bring his Wife (who is Mexican) over to the UK so they can live as a family. I believe the type of visa she has applied for is a settlement visa.

Unfortunately the Visa was refused by UK immigration as they weren’t satisfied that David met the financial requirements, stating that he did not provide enough bank statements or payslips. He submitted two months’ bank statements, a letter from his employer, which gave details of job security, wage / hours worked etc., and also a letter from his accountant stating his earnings for the previous tax year and a projection for the current year.

Now here is the issue… I have a feeling that his wife (who filled out all the forms from Mexico) misunderstood the question of whether David is employed or self-employed and selected employed on the form, when he is actually self-employed. It’s an honest mistake as technically he works for a company full time, has a boss and gets paid a wage - the only difference is he has to do his own tax return. I don’t think she realised this and consequently didn’t ask him the right questions, which meant he didn't provide the correct proof of earnings.

David, being self-employed, is not able to provide 6 month’s pay slips as he doesn’t get any. He can, however, provide 6 months bank statements which would prove that he is on track to exceed the financial requirement by a fair margin. He is also able to provide, if it would help, bank statements for previous years which would prove that his average earnings are consistently above the required amount.

Another hurdle I foresee is this is his first year working as self-employed; he has been in his current position for only 8 months. As I understand it, if you are self-employed, to meet the requirement you need to present a full year’s self-assessment as proof of earnings, which unfortunately he doesn’t have yet.

It’s a real shame because he’s worked so hard to provide for his family, and I have no doubt he would meet the financial requirement. Also, his wife is an educated intelligent women, she is an English teacher in Mexico and will likely get well paid work in the UK.

Do you think they have a chance of success in appealing the refusal given what I've outlined above? And is there anything I could do to make their case stronger?

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Dylan

[SoHopeful]

I don't have any personal experience of appeals... however if he is self employed and has not submitted the correct paperwork, I don't really see grounds for appeal as the requirements are very clear.

[Wanderer]

How can he 'have a boss' and yet be self employed? The two are mutually exclusive.

Also if he is self employed he'll need 12 months accounts etc to pass the financial criteria.

[Casa]

He should also bear in mind that qualifying income for the self-employed is calculated after business expenses have been deducted. i.e the nett amount on which HMRC calculated tax due.
As Wanderer has said he can't have a boss and be self-employed...and you mention that 'his employer provided a letter'. What type of work does he carry out and does he submit invoices?

Going by the information you've posted, an appeal would be pointless. He should now focus on submitting the right documents for a new application.

[shakoorh]

I'm pretty sure you just need to make £18,600 in the year even if you make it in 8 months. Also, you only provided 2 statements, you have to provide 12 months of statements. There is a possibility if you basically lie and say they lost your statements and send 10 extra months of statements. But it is the applicant's mistake.

[Dylmar]

Thanks for your replies.

Wanderer: Being employed and self-employed are not necessarily mutually exclusive; from what I understand there is a grey area which my friend appears to fall into. According to the HMRC guidelines he meets much of the criteria of an employee, for example: he works for a company he does not own, has a manager who directs and oversees his work, is required to do a minimum number of hours each week, and gets paid regular monthly wages. However, for tax purposes he is required to complete a self-assessment tax return. So on the Financial Requirement form that his partner filled out, neither the questions for 'employed or 'self-employed' were fully applicable. She genuinely thought, based on what I've stated above, that he was employed, not self-employed. There was clearly a miscommunication between them.

Casa: He is a window cleaner, and no, he does not submit personal invoices; he uses invoices on the job but they are for the company he works for which he has no financial stake in.

What it boils down to is my friend’s partner (who filled out all the forms) entered the wrong employment status as she was not aware that he was self-employed. Given what I’ve stated above regarding his job role, I think it’s understandable, especially for someone who has never worked or lived in the UK, to come to this conclusion.

[physicskate]

Self-employed or not, only sending two months of statements is not sufficient proof... for any category! Totally understandable that she didn't put that he is self-employed, but two months of info was never going to be enough for the employed categories either.

They should look at all of the financial categories, decide which is most appropriate and then provide EVERY scrap of documentation that is required. Self-employed categories are notoriously pernickity and difficult to fulfill the required documentation.

New application should be successful if they provide what is required. The processing time might be slightly extended as they look into the previous refusal, but should not be a big deal.

[Dylmar]

Physicskate: You are absolutely right, two months bank statements are definitely not sufficient proof of income for either employment category.

Producing the required bank statements is not a problem though; my friend has 6 months statements to submit, listing salary deposits, which if doubled for 12 months would exceed the minimum financial requirement by a fair margin. In addition, he will include a letter from his employer listing wage payments on a month by month basis to show correspondence to the bank deposits. He will further include his tax return for 2014-2015, in which he also earned in excess of the required amount through a mixture of employed and self-employed work.

As you say, we are going to send every piece of documentation available to help build a clear picture of my friend’s financial circumstances; supported with a letter by myself explaining the reasons for the error on the Financial Requirement form by his partner, and also walking them through the documentation provided.

I hope on the balance of the supporting information, despite the error on the application, reason will prevail.

[physicskate]

I hope on the balance of the supporting information, despite the error on the application, reason will prevail.

Reason is irrelevant with visa applications; tick the boxes, get the visa!

Make sure your friends are familiar with the categories:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... t_2015.pdf

They need to decide if Catgories F or G is more appropriate. Self-employment is tricky to provide all required documentation as it ties to financial years of the company. Have them read Section 9 of the link I've provided. It's not as simple as some bank statements, and hey presto!