Spouse Visa Albania - refused then granted?

[jacquelineg]

Hi

I am English, my Husband is Albanian. We are due to attend his visa appointment end of January. I will be going over to support him obviously.

On a similar note, he has a friend who is married to an English girl and 1st refusal was because relationship was not seen to be genuine (they had lived together with proof for past 2 years). 2nd refusal last Thursday as he had originally said he was Kosovan then overstayed in UK. However, when he went to collect papers from Embassy in Tirana on Friday he was also given his Visa. Confused? Yes? Questioned? No! Just very happy.

My Husband and I were delighted with this news as he was an overstayer who also originally applied Asylum as Kosovan. This has given us a glimmer of hope. However, have been honest in our spouse visa and just hope we are successful. We are still very nervous.

Also, as I have sold my previous home my daughter and I are currently living with my parents in 2 bed flat. Would it be best to put deposit on suitable accommodation for the 3 of us before his interview as I am worried refusal could be due to overcrowding.

Thanks for reading.

[VictoriaS]

How old is your daughter and is there a living room or dining room?

Victoria

[mirnat]

I was in a similar situation. I'm a British Citizen and my Albanian husband, who was granted a 2 year spouse visa in March 2007, was originally an overstayer who applied for Asylum saying he was from Kosovo. He was sent back to Albania in November 2006. When we applied for the spouse visa in Tirana we were renting a room in a shared house (we still are). I think as long as u can show that you and your husband will have at least a bedroom to yourself and are not sharing it with strangers/other adults for example you should be ok. I think what they're more interested in seeing is a regular income that would enable you to move onto to different housing if u had to rather than stay for years in overcrowded accommodation.

Best of luck and hopefully he will get his visa on the same day as his interview. My husband's interview was originally on 17th January 2007 but they did not give him the Visa that day, saying they were awaiting reports from the Home Office on his previous status in the UK and local police checks so he had to wait for a further two months. His brother however who had his interview a month before in December 2006 for a fiance visa walked away the same day with the Visa! I went over to Albania in January 2007 for my husband's interview and was disappointed to come home alone! I did however go over again in March 2007 and we came back together because he was granted the Visa which made the long wait worthwhile!

[jacquelineg]

Hi Victoria

My daughter is 6 years old.

Yes there is a living room.

[jacquelineg]

Thanks for your reply "mirnat".

I have a regular income been employed by same boss for past 4 years.

Staying with parents is only a stop gap while hubby in Albania so I can save a bit more. As soon as he comes home we will look for somewhere else as he also has a job offer so can start working asap. I have also stated this in a letter with his application and provided all proof of finances and flat sale etc.

I sold my previous flat so have good deposit to put on shared ownership property. Don't really want to privately rent but will do so if that is the only problem in my hubby coming home to us.

Two issues concern me:
1. The fact that he lied about being Kosovan and overstaying.
2. Overcrowding.

As you can see I don't feel 100% confident in our application but will have to wait and find out soon. Nothing more we can do in the meantime.

Jacque x

[mirnat]

I am a solicitor, but not an immigration one, so only talking from my own experience, and those of other Albanian/British couples that I know and it sounds like u've put a strong case together, especially on the side of proving your finances etc. I think that's the main thing they would be interested in.

Not sure what to say about the Kosovan/overstaying thing. When my husband applied last year it was not such an issue and he was an overstayer by 3 years, having originally tried and failed to apply for assylum. From recent posts it does sound as though they're clamping down on allowing overstayers back in but to be honest, I'd say they would use that as a reason for refusing the visa in 'borderline' cases where the couple concerned do not have their finances sorted and may need to rely on public funds. The fact that u've been employed for the last 4 years in the same job and have a good deposit to buy a property and your husband has a job offer for here in the UK should hopefully take the ECO's mind off the overstaying thing!

Best of luck for the 25th anyway and let us at the Board know how it goes!

[jacquelineg]

Thanks for your post. Feel a little on the brighter side now.

Will let you know how it goes.

What field do you specialize in?

[VictoriaS]

The property is not overcrowded then.

Victoria