Last month my wife in pakistan applied for the uk spouse visa but it was refused on the grounds that we have provided little evidence of regular contact.
What we provided were the following:
Photos of wedding functions
Personal photos + some with friends and family
Money transfer slips which i sent her
Itemized phone bills showing calls, sms, date, time, duration, cost
This is what the ECO wrote:
"It is reasonable to expect that in a genuine subsisting, supportive and affectionate relationship, there would be evidence of regular contact, signs of companionship, emotional support, affection and an abiding interest in each other's welfare and well being, this is not evident in your application nor in the documention you have submitted. I see no evidence of greeting cards, emails, skype messages or calls. In order to sustain your marriage and maintain communication between you as you are apart it would be reasonable to expect a high level of correspondence of all types in order to grow as a couple and to continue to learn about each other, your home lives, routines, friends, family and your aspirations for your life together, none of this has been submitted and i am therefore not satisfied that you and your sponsor intend to live permanently with each other and that the marriage is subsisting. 281 (iii)"
Now we havent sent any cards to each other, both our birthdays are early next year, our wedding anniversary is next year, what kind of cards exactly do they want to see?
Our means of communication has always been via telephone and sms.
A few questions I have:
Date of refusal was 5th october 2011 but we recieved the notice today. From which date do we have 28 days to appeal?
Has anyone else had their applicatiom refused on similar grounds and what did you do to remedy it?
When I appeal, do I do it from the UK or does my wife submit in pakistan? Also do we just send what they have asked for or do I need to resubmit all the papers sent with the original application?
Naturally we are extremely upset with this decision, to tell us we dont intend to be together because we didnt use skype or send each other easter cards seems rediculous.
I am travelling to pakistan in a few weeks time so I would be extremely gratefull for any information, experiences and advice anyone can provide.
Many thanks in advance!
