Turkish - Overstaying and spouse visa

[katiepig]

Hello
My husband is about to go back after 3 years of marriage as we have been through hearings,appeals and refusals etc and have become depressed with the whole fight.
He overstayed due to a confusion with a 2 year multi entry visa ( he stayed the 2 years without popping back every 6 months)!!!
However we were married before the visa expired.

My question is how difficult/easy it it to apply for a spouse visa with overstaying against us? The hearing although very sympathetic towards us (also proved we have a family life etc) finally ruled against giving him leave to remain.He is currently able to be here under a Turkish business application ( to join my fathers successful company)which is in a very long que.
Can we apply for a spouse visa before he leaves?
My husband has to do 15 month National Service and his passport has run out,will he be aple to apply with this outstanding?

I believe that Turkish visa applications are now outsourced and not a face to face interview,so is it worth me going and supporting him?

Thanks again all.I have posted before under Piggy but the system refused to let me in again or recognise my email address.

[Chess]

Please look through the forum postings as your case has been considered many a time....

Yes. He can succeed!

Good luck

[katiepig]

hi chess

can you direct me to where these past listings are as my search only brought up what i had previously read.
It seems so simplified for him just to apply from turkey and get the spouse visa after all we have been through here.I hope you understand my concern at the risk.

[mine]

having just come back from british consulate in istanbul where my wife is turkish , where she was in abuse of her past visa,
i was not allowed in at interview and it was done in consulate buildings, with brithish consulate staff ,

where we were kept waiting 10 days .....
and visa refused
feel free to pm me if you like
very similar situation

[ilm]

I can certainly sympathise with you as I am sure can many people who are in/have been/or remotely understand the position your are in.

Settlement visa's for overstayers have been discussed many times on this forum and from that it should be very obvious that, as I believe you have realised, the only viable solution is to return to get a spouse visa. It does seem simplified, and in our situation it was but only after we had been successful and had put in alot of work preparing a water tight application.

The personal risks are huge and it is very difficult to explain to others who don't understand immigration laws how big they are as they all assume everything will be OK and there is no way the HO would keep you apart. There is a feeling that you are the only ones that have this problem and this is one of the reasons why this board is so great. We got so much information and without it my wife wouldn't have a spouse visa now.

The information is on these boards but there is a no "do it like this and everything will be OK." You have to read all the other relevent posts, study the immigration laws and read very carefully the guidance notes. I don't know of a complete list of all the links but I know they are there as I found them.

[katiepig]

Thankyou so much for your help.It makes me feel better that i am not alone.
This forum is fantastic and i have used it to get loads of info, but its relating your own situation against peoples experiences of applying to many different countries that's confusing.Sometimes (even through the subject has been done to death) you just want to know peoples experiences in dealing with the countries you are dealing with, as many differ.
Im glad i know know that Istanbul is not letting people attend interviews as this will now save me an unnecessary trip and gives me time to focus on the application.
The fact i have had this realistic help through others experiences like mine (and have found someone in the same situation) makes my question viable and this forum valuable.

[SWEET_AIR]

hi katiepig

My husband is a turk and I am a ILR holder. He is currently staying in London with me based on a visitor visa (since June). We plan to go back to Istanbul together to apply for his spouse visa. so how was your husband's application? Did he attend any interview? I would be very interested to know.

thanks a lot

[katiepig]

Hi
My husband is still here awaiting another application. So we didnt go back to make the application in istanbul.I dont know what to advise for the best, however i believe that people are advising to apply abroad and have been successful. It would have been a lot cheaper for us.Check out other turkish applications through search as more recently one guy wasnt so successful( check postings by member called mine)however spend time building a strong case, ie lots of supporting evidence, bank statements etc.These have all been talked about in detail in previous posts.
If your husband is not an overstayer then there shouldnt be any real problems with you applying here, just death by delay/waiting, at least you would be here together.How long have you been married?

Good luck and please let me know how you get on. You can always MP me if any details are sensitive.

[SWEET_AIR]

We married in Hong Kong (where I originally come from) in June and we applied a visitor visa for him (this was few days before our marriage) from Hong Kong. He then travelled together with me to the UK where I live and work. In early July, I rang up the home office at croydon and asked for an appointment - they told me that because my husband is on a visitor visa - he can't apply to change his status in the UK. So we must apply for his spouse visa in Turkey.

The only thing I am worried about is our bank statements. Although I own a house in London, I don't have much cash and savings. Neither has he. Based on my salary, we can certainly support our living. I am still figuring out how to make my and his accounts look healthier before our application.

[SWEET_AIR]

I also have another query - is it always the case that the sponsor (e.g. me) is not allowed to attend the interview?

And regarding the financial criteria - how much do they expect the applicant and the sponsor to have in order to pass the criteria?

Thanks very much for your help

[katiepig]

Yes i remember now , just after our marriage 3 1/2 years ago they stopped letting 'switching' of visas, as in visa status.
I would keep up the good behaviour with the visitors visa ie dont overstay and dont give reason to upset them.You will then be able to hopefully get good credit/reputation to apply for future longerstay visas ( for your husband) build up some status here ie bank stuff,savings,length of marriage, phone records and letters etc, then apply back in Istanbul.I think lenth of marriage is important, iv now heard of 2 people who were refused as their marriage was too'young' and getting pregnant wont help either( see mine postings).
Just DONT overstay, my husband made a big mistake with how his visa worked, and has paid very heavily. His brother was refused a visa the other day as the home office felt they couldnt trust him,this guy is at the equivalent of Cambridge Uni and has no reason to overstay in the UK.
This is only my advice though, im not a home office official but have my own experience only to go on.
As for finances, iv heard of people ( and talked to 1)who's sponsor had no job, rented a council house and is on social benefits! So as for how much money you need i have no idea! This wasnt an issue for the home office with us even through i was a mature student at the time, but i did still own my own house and worked part time.
Again you need the advice of one of the mentors, plus check out the other turkish postings.I appreciate its difficult to get your info from people who are not going to the same embassy as the one you are dealing with, but the general message about getting good evidence and proof of a marriage is very important. We have finally after 3 1/2 years of marriage had it recognised ( by an immigration court)that we are married!! i should hope so im 3 months pregnant with our child!
Good luck.
Keep in touch.