Albania - Time taken to Issue Settlement Visa after appeal

[specofsunlight]

Hi All,

I notice that the UKBA issue their statistics for processing times for visa applications but not for visas which have been authorised for issue after winning an appeal.

Could anyone please give me an indictation of how long we should expect to wait? We are six weeks into waiting after receiving our decision from the Ministry of Justice in the UK.

Additionally does the Embassy in Tirana contact by telephone or do they write to call you in to get the visa issue?

Any information gatefully received

[Lucapooka]

If your appeal is successful
If the judge allows your appeal, his or her determination will be sent to the relevant visa section, which will in turn contact you.

It can take up to 4 weeks for determinations to reach the relevant visa section, and a further 8 weeks for them to be processed. The visa section will write to you using the contact details provided on your appeal form.

Please do not contact the visa section until 12 weeks after the date when you or your representative received the judge's decision. This date will be stated on your written determination.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... o/appeals/

[newlight1]

Hi All,

I notice that the UKBA issue their statistics for processing times for visa applications but not for visas which have been authorised for issue after winning an appeal.

Could anyone please give me an indictation of how long we should expect to wait? We are six weeks into waiting after receiving our decision from the Ministry of Justice in the UK.

Additionally does the Embassy in Tirana contact by telephone or do they write to call you in to get the visa issue?

Any information gatefully received

Hey congrats, sent you a PM.

[specofsunlight]

Hi Newlight,

Thanks for the info I was aware of the HMRC guidelines; just wondered if anyone had been through the experience of the appeal and whether they had to wait for the whole 12 week duration.

Also do they usually contact by telephone or post?

Many thanks

[newlight1]

Hi Newlight,

Thanks for the info I was aware of the HMRC guidelines; just wondered if anyone had been through the experience of the appeal and whether they had to wait for the whole 12 week duration.

Also do they usually contact by telephone or post?

Many thanks

Ohh I explained the answers to your questions in the PM but I dont think you got it.

[wenner]

Congratulations for winning appeal.Really great news.have you used immigration advisors for application and appeal?If you did, can you please send me their contact details?you can pm me please.I got my ILR, now I need to apply for my husband's spouse visa.My husband is still waiting in Albania.I think our application will be refused under 320.11 as my husband lived and worked in england illegally.However, he did go back to Albania on voluntarily basis and on own expense.he left in May 2010.His previous dependency visas were refused in past.I'll appreciate any advice please.Thank you and congratulations again.Hope you will be reunited with your husband very soon.

[specofsunlight]

Hi Wenner,

Thanks for your e-mail and I'm so sorry to hear that you feel resigned to being refused your husbands visa. I hope that you are aware of the new legislation that came in to effect on 9 July 2012; and more specifically about sponsors earnings which now have to be £18,600 per year. However please keep up your hopes as the decision making seems to have little consistency and dependent on the individual offiicial interviewing in Tirana. I know of at least 2 people who have been granted a visa who also entered the UK illegally and so your husband may be lucky and I do wish you both the very best of luck.

If your husband is refused, check what they state as the reason because if it is because you didn't reach a certain criteria (for example not earning sufficient salary) you would be quicker and cheaper re-applying for a visa again by meeting the criteria and spending another 1000 euros (think that is the current cost of visa application?) than going through the appeal process which cost us around £3,200 including barrister fees.

My husband had also entered the country illegally and returned voluntarily; we got married in Albania as we were advised by a lawyer in the UK that this is what we should do in order to stand the best possible chance of his application being accepted.

We met absolutely every criteria and more, specified for settlement visa application, even to the point where I produced mortgage statements, valuation of my property and 1 year's worth of itemised telephone bills, 100's of photographs, character references from friends including a priest, utility bills with both our names on and 1 years worth of banks statements and payslips and he was still refused on the grounds of entering the UK illegally (which incidently they have no legal right to refuse, unless the legislation has changed since we appealed,under paragraph 320 of the immigration act) and in addition they cited he used the NHS services.

I did use an immigration solicitor to process the appeal and I would advise you to do so because it is an incredibly lengthy, stressful and heartbreaking procedure with no sensitivity to the level of distress caused to both sponsor and applellant. The solicitor I used is Greenfields Solicitors in London N9 9HF.

Whilst I did use a solicitor and it was helpful particularly in putting together the court bundle, I did most of the research for the appeal myself. For example I discovered that there is an HMRC directive of a limit of £1000 useage of NHS services for non-EU visitors HOWEVER the UKBA (HMRC) currently appear to have no way to check the cost of NHS services by individuals as there is no NHS central accounting system so the grounds of refusal were unfounded. Asides from that, my husband had gone to see a dentist once for a broken tooth and a doctor 4 times in the 5 years he was here; hardly likely to knock up a bill of over £1000. I contacted my husbands doctor with his written permission and even he couldn't tell me how much he thought his appointments would have cost. he estimated around £200 in total but couldn't veryify this.

You have to pay £140 for the piece of paper which allows you to appeal (it used to be free) and I got this advice and the form from my solicitor, the embassy in Tirana gave my husband no information whatsoever on how to appeal when they told him his visa was refused. They are unhelpful to the point of being obstructive. You only have 28 days in which to appeal if the visa is refused so you need to act quickly in appointing a solicitor. Most good immigration solicitors give you a free consultation initially.

If there is any information I can help you with please let me know, the procedure is complicated and can feel really overwhelming. We have been through hell and it's still not over.

[wenner]

Thank you very much for your email.It has been very informative.I will definately get in touch as soon as I am ready to submit the application.

You are right, it is such a long and expensive journey, but in the end we will get there. I am going to visit my husband in Albania soon, I think for a week in February and while I am there, we will submit the application.Now I have to collect evidence to show our marriage is still subsisiting.With our previous applications I have submitted everything you have mentioned , except, I haven't been to Albania yet.

However, we have met up twice in South africa, where I am from, and he lived there for 3 months with my family.I know for a fact that ECO will say we can enjoy our family life in either South Africa or Albania.I wish we could, I really really do, but I have a permanent job now, I earn a good salary, I just want my husband back so we can get on with our lives.It seems almost , almost impossible, but we are going to try for one last time, we have to.
Good luck to you and your husband.I hope he gets his visa very soon.And once again, thank you for the email.I appreciate it a great deal.