Family Visit visa for husband refused

[fortcharllote]

My husband's application for a family visit visa was refused by the BHC in Jamaica. They basically stated that because he was married to a British national residing in the UK they were not satisfied that he would be returning to Jamaica after a 3 month visit. He has been to the UK before but we were not married. He has since submitted documents to show that he is a businessman as well as a family ties, land and property ties. We have appealed to the first tier tribunal. Has anyone been faced with a similar situation? Can anyone tell me how long the process actually takes?

Many thanks

[Casa]

If he omitted crucial documents proving strong reasons to return to Jamaica it may well be quicker to re-apply. The appeal will only be decided on the evidence available to the ECO in the original application..which it appears your husband failed to submit.

[fortcharllote]

So what you are saying is regardless of the fact that we submitted further evidence to support the application, those documents will not be taken into consideration? Can we withdraw the application for the appeal and just submit a new application at the BHC in Jamaica.

[Lucapooka]

Well they will be considered if they refer to situations that existed before the refusal. It seems from what you have said they do.

A appeal can take six months but a new application might be a better option if the new evidence will substantially change the ECOs position of the assumption that you partner has no binding ties to his home. Otherwise, it's best to wait for a judge at the FTT to decide if he represents an immigration risk of non-return.

Did you give a reason why your current circumstances are such that you are not yet ready or in a position to live together as is usual with married couples?

[fortcharllote]

@ Lucapooka, In the original application we did not give a reason as to why we would not be living together permanently as yet. It was an oversight on my part.
Also I believe another factor in them refusing the application was due to the fact that on his previous visitors visa which was granted around this time last year, he was living in a house with the mother of his 10 year old child. We were questioned about this when he landed at Gatwick on 6th December 2010, as the officials were sceptical about the nature of his visit. We explained that he stated he was living with an unmarried partner however they were no longer civil with each other and were living in separate living quarters. I was not the one to Sponsor my husband to the UK then, It was my mother. When asked about our relationship I advised that he was a dear friend whom I have known for over 9 years.

The documents used in that application are of a similar nature to the ones we have submittted this time around, the only difference is that we failed to supply satisfactory evidence to supprt the application.

He is a tradesman, auto-body repairman, and he works for a large garage in Jamaica, he also at times work from his own small garage therefore he is self employed and employed. We sent a letter the first time and this time from his employer to state that he works at the garage and to provide an approximation of his salary. We did not submit any wages slips as he is paid cash in hand, the letter in 2010 did not state how he was paid and they did not have a problem with that, however this time around they have stated that there is lack of evidence to suggest how he is paid. We have since requested from his employer a further letter to clarify that he is paid cash in hand as so many trades men are, I have now decided to submit his 2009 and 2011 tax retun for his own small garage as these are all the documents we can find.

We have not yet decided to live together permanently as
1 he has elderly parents to whom he has a duty of care.
2) he is a sole proprietor operating a business and it is not wise for him to leave and abandon his business for uncertainty in the UK at present.
3 Currently a family member, his younger brother is missing , whereabouts unknown and he is the one that has to be liasing with and following up on the case with the authorities, (we now have a police report) I dont know if I should submit that.
4) My mother has a home in jamaica which she rents out and he was overseeing for us and has been for the past 2 years. My mother and I are currently not well and we are reliant on him to look after our business until we are able to.
We have a lot to sort out before he decides to reside here permanently with me. I go to Jamaica twice a year because we are building a house and extending my mother's home.

We would have applied for a spouse visa, however it takes a long time for those to be decided. I am unwell, I have an underlying medical condition and I am due a CT scan tomorow, he was getting worried and he wanted to be here for me, therefore we decided to apply for a family visit because we though it would be quicker. I have all my Gp letters and letter s from my consultant. I guess I am not sure if submitting these will help.

We did not state any of these things in the initial application.
I am wondering if submitting them now will help.

Many thanks

[angie36]

Hi Fortcharlotte,

I have also had trouble in getting my husband a family visa, but it was New Delhi BHC that refused the visa. When we submitted the first visa we just submitted evidence of me being a British Citizen our mariage certificate my bank details pay slips etc and my husband did the same and included his lease he has on a restaurant, plus airline tickets. This is all that is reccommended on the website. This was refused as they also didnt beleive he was going to return back to India, even though he has a business, they also stated that we failed to submitted evidence of our relationship etc, If these had of been reccommended on the website we would have submitted these. After getting the refusal letter i contacted the appeals department in the UK for some advice about what to sumit. So we submitted, extra evidence, such as a letter from my boss, about 50 pictures, letter from my sister to say she knows my husband, e-amils since 2007, stamps in my passport, more information regarding the business, also a copy of divorce paperwork saying he has sole responsiblity for his children. They questioned why we did not apply for a settlement visa, which we explained in a letter. Basically i do not have anymore paperwork to give them, but the BHC did not over turn their decision. The paperwork has now gone to England, but the paperwork has been lost. Ive decided to just scrap the idea of going through an appeal, am going to get back my photgraphs and start again with a serttlement visa. I do not know how their minds work when looking at the paperwork.

If the reson for refusing a visa is they dont beleive they will be returning back to their home town, then a settlement visa will solve this, hopefully, you can give them a thousand pieces of evidence if they dont beleive you, they never will..

[fortcharllote]

Hi angie36.

I don't know what to do anymore, they take so long to decide on settlement visas. I don't know if evidence regarding my medical state will speed things along. I will probably resort to contacting my MP. Because the fact of the matter is that he is not coming here to reside or with that intention. He is coming with the intention to return home to his obligations until such time when he can apply for a settlement visa.

[angie36]

Have you tried talking to the apeals people in England, i found them very helpful, as they are independant and not connected to the BHC they give you fair advice. So how far has the appeal's process got to, your husbands original visa was refused and you submitted extra paperwork within the 28 days, and they did not over turn their decision and now the paperwork has been sent to England, is that right.

I have actually stopped being really angry about all this, as there is nothing we can really do to change their minds, if they have already hit their quota about issuing a set amount of Family Visas then thats it.
What the BHC should do is contact the person who is applying for a visa and ask them questions, but they dont seem to do that.
I have actually written to my MP as i think the way we have been treated is unfair, the fact we are British born and breed has not been taken into consideration. and i think it should. I will let you know what they say.

Speak to the appeals people in the UK and tell them about your medical state and see what they suggest.

let me know what happens

[geriatrix]

Does anyone know how long after requesting to withdraw an appeal from the first tier tribunal in the UK can a person make a fresh application.

Many thanks

[geriatrix]

APL1.20 Applicant makes fresh application while an appeal is outstanding

[fortcharllote]

Hi angie36,
I only submitted the appeal last monday. This was received and I have a letter from them confirming receipt. They put a date for 4th January 2012 for appeal to proceed. This was two days after I submitted the appeal. I don't know if the application has been reconsidered by the Bhc in Kingston. I am going to call tomorrow and speak to the appeals office. I will let you know what goes on

[fortcharllote]

I just spoke to someone at the tribunal and they stated that If there is medical evidence they can put a request in for the case to be expidited. I advised that I have further evidence and they said to submit it.