Spousal Visa Application - Pakistan

[Shakiya]

Hi

I have been reading your posts on this board. Last time this year I applied for a spouse visa on 30th June 2009. I got a response after 20 weeks (5 months) this was not unusual at the time. The visa was refused and I appealed against the decision which is still ongoing.

Last year at this time the BHC suggesting that they had IT problems in the summer of 2009 and a lot of backlog was due to the point based student visa system which had been introduced. At one point I was even informed that the UK Boarder Agency were relocating there offices in the UK hence the further delays. From what I have gathered from your posts on this forum there seems to be some delays.

My advice to all those on this forum who have been waiting for 12 weeks is to contact your local MP. Speaking form experience this really can help speed up the process, you will get more detailed information from your MP on the status of your application. Please also seek advice from BatleyKhan at this point.

[joe_90]

salaam all ,

just a quick update . . Work received a call today from the home office ( ECO ). They asked to speak to person in HR who wrote my employment letter ...but she was on another call when asked if they wanted to hold ECO replied no ...i did prep the receptionists that a call may come at some point ..so receptionist was aware of the situation ....so she asked ECO if there was anything she could help with .....

...after some hesitation she advised why she was ringing ( to check if i still worked here ) because my documents were dated in March ( just before i went Pakistan ) and my application was submitted in May and now its July so she wanted to check if i still worked at the company and if i was in the office today....

receptionist told the ECO he still works here was in yesterday but is not in today ..( I had a client meeting ) ..ECO took details of the person who took the call and said thank you ...call lasted about 3 minutes.

this has got me worried as all my documents were dated to the end of March = bank statements, wage slips and savings account...i provided 12 months bank statements and 8 months wage slips ...but there is a gap of 7 weeks between them and the date of application ..savings statement does show regular savings transactions once every six weeks for 1 year. ..l also included P60 for 2009-10 a relation brought it over after the wedding.....
..is this a large gap of when no information is provided ?

Nothing i can do now i suppose except do dua ...

Timeline :

Submitted Mirpur = 20/05/2010
Under process at BHC on = 3/06/2010
call received at work = 13/07/2010 @ 11.42.am (37 working days from date of app / 54 calendar days)

Good luck to everyone ...

[c4_2007]

c42007 - when did you send them an email and when did you get a reply?
I submitted my application a week after yours they responded: Decision was made on 06/07/2010.
Ofcouse the timing differ from case to case but my case was not even straight forward, it is so confusing and now worrying for me because if they decided on mine early is it a bad news..? i.e. negative decision or what....?

I emailed them today at 2Pm and got a reply at 3.30PM.

It has been 3 months since I last saw my wife and really its becoming difficult. However I know there are brothers and sisters who are in more difficult positions than me. I have tried to stop worrying about it now as there is nothing we can do except by Dua.

If the 12 weeks are up - I will defiantley contact my MP to find out whats up.

Anyone contacted their MPs? Got any letter templates?

May Allah make it easy for us all!

[NAZ786]

Aoq, joe_90

I have applied end of May last week? I know you applied on the 20/05/2010 at Mirpur i applied at Islamabad. I realise they are contacting applicants employers on the 7th or 8th week but your application has been dealt quite quick! They have contacted your employer so this means your application is in the last stage, for a decision to be made?

To my knowlegde if your application is straight forward the process is quick but they still take their time!

I wish lots of luck Inshallah may Allah give every'1 good news Inshallah! on this forum...

[Corsa786]

Salaam everyone, got papers from husband, visa got refused not on property.
It says you have stated ur sponser will maintain u in the uk, u have stated they have income of £1000 per month. U havesubmitted ur sponsers bank statements from Yorkshire bank as evidence of their finances. The bank statements submitted fail to show deposits or regular transactions that reflect the amounts claimed as earnings. On the balance of probaility I am not satisfied that ur sponser is in reciept of the income as claimed I am there for not satisfied that u will adequately maintained in the uk without public funds.


I get paid cash, my working hours are 9-5 haven't got time to go to bank each month so I deposit when I can. The bank statements show the cash I put in.

They even rang my work to confirm employment. I sent wage slips and employment letter.

Can someone advise me what to do? Batleykhan!

[SF786]

Deja vu...Corsa786 I swear you've posted that before

Anyway I pray things work out for you! Where is batleykhan these days! Footie's over so he should be around here somewhere...

[kaidee]

This is the repsonse that i got :

---

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your email. This type of application is lodged in Pakistan and processed in the UK. I have checked on the status of your application and can confirm that your application is currently being processed and a decision will be made shortly.

Please do not contact the VAC directly about this as they will contact you when your paperwork is ready for collection.


Regards

UK Visa Section
Correspondence Team

I got the exact same reply. I'm in my 10th week now. No employer contact as of yet.

[sh4hb4z]

Good News Everyone.

First of all, thanks for the help, guidance and advice. Been reading this forum since July 2009, taking tips where I can, noting requirements, and basically getting myself ready for my wifes application submission.

I started reading when there was only about 80 or so pages, so theres a lot of information on these boards and time frames etc... so its been really helpful to me.

My details:
Islamabad
Application Submitted: 20/04/2010
Application being processed: 12/05/10

Between this time, I have been in touch with the UKBA via email on various occasions

Call to employer: 07/06/10
Decision make: 07/06/10

SMS received, collection: 12/07/10
Collection: 13/07/10

Visa Granted!

Thanks.. I will be posting the details of my application soon, but it is pretty similar to everything everyone else has submitted.. I did submit a lot of pictures though - before the wedding (when we met), during my cousins wedding (when we became serious), during our wedding, after wedding, my leaving date...

This shows that our relationship was real. Along with this I submitted time lines etc. Also for communication I got my wife to print Ufone itemised call log from the Ufone office, wife called me on a land line number (100rs 100 mins) - we had 36 pages of calls spanning 3 months.. (we love to talk).

Apart from this we submitted attested copies of Nikkah etc as per normal.

You do not need to get photocopies of all your passport pages - I did not do this, and it seems pointless - I have never seen a refusal due to not enough copies of a passport's pages. Just show the stamps relating to that particular visit.

I would say communication evidence, support evidence, and relationship evidence (photo's etc) are very important and make sure you just provide as much information as possible stressing that yes it is a genuine relationship - where you have any doubts such as leaving straight after etc - explain this in the personal statement, explain why, explain the circumstances - tell them your story, afterall its your responsibility to do so...

Anyways.. been a long post now...

Thanks again for everyones help, advice, pointers, guidance, everything.. I don't think I would have gotten far without the knowledge gained from here... and of course without the will of Allah...

Take it easy people - my application took a total of 12 weeks exactly. 84 exact days...

Sallaam

Shahbaz

[humtum]

I applied for my wife on 19/05 at mirpur.as far as I know my headoffice has not received the call yet but it's is a very busy firm sometimes they don't even pick up the phones.I m really worrying If that's happens and they refuse the visa.do they must call the employer? I did enclosed 3 years p60 for the same company I'm still empolyed and about 8months wage slips and 6 months bank statment showing salary coming in.let's see what's happen Inshallah every one will get good news

[billo]

shahbaz,

Congratulations!!! Very happy for you. It's so nice to hear good news like this.

[batleykhan]

You do not need to get photocopies of all your passport pages - I did not do this, and it seems pointless - I have never seen a refusal due to not enough copies of a passport's pages. Just show the stamps relating to that particular visit.

You probally wont have seen any because you dont do Immigration casework, but those who do this work come across a lot of people who have been refused for this specific reason.

There is no harm in sending all pages. I have seen people refused because they fail to show all the visits that they had made to see their spouses or fiancee, or failed to show pages where they were refused visas to other countries.

It is better to be safe and send all pages just in case the ECO woke up from the wrong side of teh bed on the morning that he looks at your application

[SF786]

Congratulations Shahbaz really happy for you

Do dua for the rest of us who are waiting

[z4ydi]

This is the repsonse that i got :

---

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your email. This type of application is lodged in Pakistan and processed in the UK. I have checked on the status of your application and can confirm that your application is currently being processed and a decision will be made shortly.

Please do not contact the VAC directly about this as they will contact you when your paperwork is ready for collection.


Regards

UK Visa Section
Correspondence Team

I got the exact same reply. I'm in my 10th week now. No employer contact as of yet.

Kaidee - Have you sent them another email requesting whether a decision is made if so when was the decision made... they told me the date of the decision at least we can match how close the dates of the decisions are and how much consistancy is there.

[RHussain07]

Good News Everyone.

First of all, thanks for the help, guidance and advice. Been reading this forum since July 2009, taking tips where I can, noting requirements, and basically getting myself ready for my wifes application submission.

I started reading when there was only about 80 or so pages, so theres a lot of information on these boards and time frames etc... so its been really helpful to me.

My details:
Islamabad
Application Submitted: 20/04/2010
Application being processed: 12/05/10

Between this time, I have been in touch with the UKBA via email on various occasions

Call to employer: 07/06/10
Decision make: 07/06/10

SMS received, collection: 12/07/10
Collection: 13/07/10

Visa Granted!

Mash Allah - i'm very happy for you!!!i know you were waiting ages so its great to see they've given a positive response. very happy for you.

Take it easy people - my application took a total of 12 weeks exactly. 84 exact days...

clearly they didnt want you complaining then


Please do dua for me and the rest of us waitng!! BJ Touch - any news?
Sallaam

Shahbaz

[zeddy zed]

You do not need to get photocopies of all your passport pages - I did not do this, and it seems pointless - I have never seen a refusal due to not enough copies of a passport's pages. Just show the stamps relating to that particular visit.

You probally wont have seen any because you dont do Immigration casework, but those who do this work come across a lot of people who have been refused for this specific reason.

There is no harm in sending all pages. I have seen people refused because they fail to show all the visits that they had made to see their spouses or fiancee, or failed to show pages where they were refused visas to other countries.

It is better to be safe and send all pages just in case the ECO woke up from the wrong side of teh bed on the morning that he looks at your application

I told my solicitor the same thing but he goes no you dont need to get all the pages atteseted just the ones with the stamps, i think he is being lazy and cant be bothered attesting all the pages.

secondly i am living with my parents and for some reason the solicitor is telling me to get my dads bank statement to show that he pays the mortage and also a letter from his accountant to say his income and that he pays the mortage so he could show i live rent free?

is this even relevent to my case? i havnt seen anyone else do this ,

i thought if i gave a letter from my parents saying they will allow me to live rent free and their mortage statement for 2009, land registry docs and accommodation report it would be ok?

[mkak]

my husband emailed them n got this reply

Thank you for your email of 05/07/10 enquiring about the progress of your visa application. We have been unable to trace your application from the information you have given us. In order to help us do this can you please provide:



- The applicant’s full names in the order written in the passport

- The applicant’s full date of birth

- The applicant’s nationality

- The applicant’s passport number

- The date the application was made



Yours sincerely,

Visa Enquiry Desk

we gave all this information in email...he asked the same info again?
whats goin on?

[CRT7]

zeddy zed - in my application i stated that i lived with my brother, a solicitor prepared my case for me and enclosed the following:

- declaration from my brother that me and my husband can live there indefinitly rent free
- copies of my brothers passport (attested)
- land registry document (showing my bro as owner of property)
- accomodation report (which my solicitor did for me)

Although my case was refused the ECO did not raise any concerns about accomodation. I did not provide any mortgage details.

hope this helps

[zeddy zed]

zeddy zed - in my application i stated that i lived with my brother, a solicitor prepared my case for me and enclosed the following:

- declaration from my brother that me and my husband can live there indefinitly rent free
- copies of my brothers passport (attested)
- land registry document (showing my bro as owner of property)
- accomodation report (which my solicitor did for me)

Although my case was refused the ECO did not raise any concerns about accomodation. I did not provide any mortgage details.

hope this helps

thanks CRT7 , i will talk to my solicitor and tell him not to include my dads bank statements and income, my dad is on low income and i dont want the eco raisng more questions , like hw he pays for the mortage and other costs with his income , the eco may then think am not living rent free , and so on. So better not to include them

[MA786]

Shahbaz - congratulations to you.


We made application on 31.03.2010.

you might be advised of decision in exceptional circumstances.

Contacted MP last Friday, got response next day. They are looking into it. If anyone wants a precedent, please let me know.

[Bj Touch]

RHussain, No News from me yet. Its wk11 and they have still not contacted my employer! Congratulations to Shahbaz and others who have been successful, mashallah they can begin new chapter in their lives and feel sorry for the people who got declined, may Allah (swt) help overturn their decsions quickly. I pray we are all going to get good news soon. I'm going to chase them up on wk12.

Good News Everyone.

First of all, thanks for the help, guidance and advice. Been reading this forum since July 2009, taking tips where I can, noting requirements, and basically getting myself ready for my wifes application submission.

I started reading when there was only about 80 or so pages, so theres a lot of information on these boards and time frames etc... so its been really helpful to me.

My details:
Islamabad
Application Submitted: 20/04/2010
Application being processed: 12/05/10

Between this time, I have been in touch with the UKBA via email on various occasions

Call to employer: 07/06/10
Decision make: 07/06/10

SMS received, collection: 12/07/10
Collection: 13/07/10

Visa Granted!

Mash Allah - i'm very happy for you!!!i know you were waiting ages so its great to see they've given a positive response. very happy for you.

Take it easy people - my application took a total of 12 weeks exactly. 84 exact days...

clearly they didnt want you complaining then


Please do dua for me and the rest of us waitng!! BJ Touch - any news?
Sallaam

Shahbaz

[z4ydi]

RHussain, No News from me yet. Its wk11 and they have still not contacted my employer! Congratulations to Shahbaz and others who have been successful, mashallah they can begin new chapter in their lives and feel sorry for the people who got declined, may Allah (swt) help overturn their decsions quickly. I pray we are all going to get good news soon. I'm going to chase them up on wk12.

Bj Touch - Though they call more and more employers these days but it is not a must. My employer did not get a call from them but UKBA confirmed to me by email that a decision was made on my wife's application on 06/07/10.
I suggest you should email them and check on the status of your application, they will reply beleive me, even if it is not over 12 weeks.

[kaidee]

my husband emailed them n got this reply

Thank you for your email of 05/07/10 enquiring about the progress of your visa application. We have been unable to trace your application from the information you have given us. In order to help us do this can you please provide:



- The applicant’s full names in the order written in the passport

- The applicant’s full date of birth

- The applicant’s nationality

- The applicant’s passport number

- The date the application was made



Yours sincerely,

Visa Enquiry Desk

we gave all this information in email...he asked the same info again?
whats goin on?

You may have received a reply from a different department as happens quite often. The reference number they want is the GRY incase you gave them thee online tracking one.

[kaidee]

This is the repsonse that i got :

---

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your email. This type of application is lodged in Pakistan and processed in the UK. I have checked on the status of your application and can confirm that your application is currently being processed and a decision will be made shortly.

Please do not contact the VAC directly about this as they will contact you when your paperwork is ready for collection.


Regards

UK Visa Section
Correspondence Team

I got the exact same reply. I'm in my 10th week now. No employer contact as of yet.

Kaidee - Have you sent them another email requesting whether a decision is made if so when was the decision made... they told me the date of the decision at least we can match how close the dates of the decisions are and how much consistancy is there.

I haven't yet no, I emailed them about 8 days ago or something and was told that they have my appplication and it will be processed in due course.

[mkak]

thank kaidee
yeah we gave them online tracking reference number..
ok i'll try GRY now

[snipered]

This is the repsonse that i got :

---

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your email. This type of application is lodged in Pakistan and processed in the UK. I have checked on the status of your application and can confirm that your application is currently being processed and a decision will be made shortly.

Please do not contact the VAC directly about this as they will contact you when your paperwork is ready for collection.


Regards

UK Visa Section
Correspondence Team

I got the exact same reply. I'm in my 10th week now. No employer contact as of yet.

In exactly same situation. Same reply and no employer contact. I applied on 13/05/2010.