I am currently on WP for last 3 yrs in UK. My spouse came in Student Visa at the same time but due to some reasons got converted to WP dependant, left study and joined a good paying job in Aug 2007. Now I plan to retire (!) and he plans to switch to Tier 1 as he meets all the criteria since Oct 2008.
But our story then takes an unexpected turn
In Nov 2008 he applied 1st time. But it got rejected as they said that not enough evidence and some of the criteria points awarded was 0.
In June 2009 he applied again with all correct proof. This time also his application was rejected. But this time he got perfect scores (in fact a bit more) in all the areas. But the rejection reason was mentioned that since he is in UK currently and dont hold a WP or HSMP etc (alongwith list of other visa types) HO is rejecting his application and advised to submit a fresh new one.
Now after such costly lessons, we understand that he has to go back to India and apply from there! I have a few queries in this aspect and would like to get some answers.
a. Will his visa getting rejected twice affect his future applications if all other documents and criteria are met? Really worried about this aspect.
b. Does he need to mention these 2 rejections in the subsequent applications? The details (like date/ref no etc are not with us at this moment)
c. We are here for about 3 yrs. So when we apply from India how much fund do we need to show? 800 + 533 per dependant? or is it 2800 + 1600 per dependant?
d. Will there be some sort of an interview in India when his application be processed? If he is successful will they give the approval letter there itself? And how long to get his stamping after that? I am asking this because most probably he will be taking a bit of annual leave and a bit of work from home arrangement when he goes to India to apply for the visa. Hence faster the better for us.
Many thanks in advance.