Hi All,
See the following mail from Chennai BHC , during May ' 2008 :
"From:
Chennai.VisaEnquiry@fco.gov.uk [mailto:
Chennai.VisaEnquiry@fco.gov.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 8:14 AM
Sir,
As a general rule each single applicant will be required to produce evidence that they have £2,800 at their disposal. This money should be immediately available in sterling in the UK or there should be formal authority to transfer it to the UK. The funds should be in the applicant's name or in a joint account with a married, unmarried or civil partner. If it is in a savings account, the funds must have been held for at least 3 months. Should the money be in a current account the account must have been active for at least 6 months and show regular salary or other income in line with the applicant's stated occupation. If the money is held in trust it must be at the applicant's disposal and not administered by others.
Applicants must provide documentary evidence detailing the source of any funds that have entered their account(s) within the last 3 months, for example fixed deposits, receipts and/or legal documents relating to the sale of assets.
This is a mandatory requirement and the chances of relaxation are very remote.
Yours faithfully
Casework Section
British Deputy High Commission, Chennai "
Based on the above mail confirmation , I maintained the funds in my wife account and now last week , when I enquired , they have sent me the following mail :
"
From:
Chennai.VisaEnquiry@fco.gov.uk [mailto:
Chennai.VisaEnquiry@fco.gov.uk]
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:33 AM
Subject: RE: Clarification regarding Funds in Joint Account
Dear Mr Ravi Kumar,
Thank you for your e-mail.
You must provide evidence of a minimum of £2800 held in one or more accounts in your name only (no joint accounts acceptable even with spouse). Bank statement must show a final balance no older than 1 week prior to the date of application. The funds should have been held for the last 3 months.
FDs are acceptable if accompanied by an original bank letter stating they are instantly encashable for a known sum, and we can be sure they have been held for the 3-month period.
In this instance, the joint account will not be acceptable for the principal applicant (yourself), however, it will be acceptable for your spouse's maintenance requirement.
Hope the above clarifies.
Yours truly,
dr
UK Border Agency
Visa Services
Visa Support Officer
Casework Section
British Deputy High Commission,Chennai "
I complained about this to British High Commission , New Delhi , British Deputy High Commission , Chennai and EC managers .. here are the responses from them :
From:
Chennai.VisaEnquiry@fco.gov.uk [mailto:
Chennai.VisaEnquiry@fco.gov.uk]
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:49 AM
"Dear Mr Ravikumar,
I do acknowledge that the previous mail was sent by our Office and unfortunately for you there has been a change as of 19th June 2008 where in the HSMP unit in Inda (visa sections in Chennai,Delhi and Mumbai) have decided that joint accounts (even with the spouse) are not being acceptable.
Yours truly,
UK Border Agency
Visa Services
Visa Support Officer
Casework Section
British Deputy High Commission,Chennai "
Here is the response from the EC manager :
"Dear Mr Ravi Kumar Bommasani,
As mentioned in the previous mail, Immigration rules are not static and are
bound to changes. We do not have the authority to waive Immigration rules
and in this instance, we cannot accept a joint account for your HSMP
application.
Yours sincerely,
Entry Clearance Manager
British Deputy High Commission
Chennai
Visa Services
UK Border Agency """
Adding to that the ECM is saying you would have filed for EC , immediately after getting your approval ......then why the validity for the letter is 6 months ....
My initial approval expies by this July 26th 2008 and Now I am in trouble ...If they change rules overnigt ,,, our 3 months period wont pass overnight.
This decision damaged many applicants who are in transitional arrangements..........
I have complained about this to many higher authorities , but no one responded.
AS long as we dont unite and make complaints , things would like this only . they changes the decisions everyday ....
Folks , we need to do something about this , lets team up and raise our voice to stop this injustice happening to us ..
Senior members : please advice , how to proceed about this.
Regards
Ravi
)