Marriage in Albania and spouse visa questions

[pepa]

Oh yes the other thing was -

Will it go against us that all my ID and paperwork etc is still in my maiden name!

I could change my bank details etc but i havent because worried as i would have and ID to match my married name (cant really afford the money and the time to get my passprt and driving liscense changed at the moment)

Any one have any ideas?

Thanks

[SoHopeful]

Accommodation:
With less than six months on the agreement, you would need confirmation from the landlord that they are happy to renew the tenancy. Whether you plan to stay there or not is not important.

If they did not return your agreement, you will have to get a replacement. I don't think a letter will be enough to satisfy. Did you supply a letter with the original application?

Maiden Name:
It is not an issue not having your name changed on documents. I have been married since 2010 and not changed anything yet as i don't plan to change my passport until it is ready for renewal in 2017. Your marriage certificate is sufficient proof of your relationship.

[pepa]

Thanks for your reply - in the first application we just gave the rent agreement, a letter from my parents, and council tax statements, but they were not satisified as we didnt gave an inspection report!

[pepa]

Can anyone tell me where I could find a more detailed decription of what is required for accomadtion - My lawyer reckons we should be okay for the rent agreement as long as its not going to end within 3 months of making the application (but he doesnt seem so sure)! I have pretty much evrything we need to apply but accommodtion is letting us down - and its more frustrating as we have the room for my husband and we always have it - Its just prooving it

[pepa]

Also how long am i supposed to proove we have accomadation for?? Not the whole 27 months surely! My husband would be staying with me at my parents house - and eventually we will either continue to live with them or find our own home

[harv]

Hi Pepa

I know how frustrating it gets when the people we hire/pay to give us correct information turn out to not have enough knowledge/wisdom/experience.

Anyways I think the below would be enough to prove your accommodation:

- Your Tenancy agreement (should have 6 months remaining), if less then 6 months are remaining in the agreement, get a letter from the landlord/agency mentioning that the agreement will be extending for another term (say 1 year or whatever time) on expiry.

- No Objection letter from your landlord

- No objection letter from your parents

- Council tax bills - not sure whether these are needed but if you have them, why not include it.

- Last but not the least - A House inspection report - You can get this done by estate agents usually costs between £75 to £150 - the report outlines measurements of all the rooms and the capacity of the house in terms of overcrowding.

Hope this helps.

PS - you just need to show that for at least the nest 6 months you have some sort of an agreement and that should do it.

[pepa]

Thanks for your reply!

Angry doesnt even cut it!

When you say an objection letter do you mean just a letter confirming my husband is able to live here?

What im concerned about is we dont know if we will be renewing the contract here - its a large 5 bed house and theres only 3 of us who live here so we dont really need it - Im worried it will be a bit tricky getting a letter from the landlord because I reckon he will only give something if we agree to sign another 2 year contract (which we dont want to at this stage)!

If i were to get another rent contract in my name,for another property, that would start in lets say March (with all the info from the landlord and property report ect - would they be able to accept that - even though im not living there at the moment?)

Also MORE info needed I have gone into my overdraft this month - not because of rent of tax or anything but because of visiting my husband over new year - im just worried that the eco wont like it that ive used my overdraft!

God they make it look so simple on the UKBA guidance notes - when its not - Im already starting to think of giving up and moving back abroad - but i just want soo much for husband to experience life here

[harv]

Hi Pepa

Yes you are right, too many things going on in the application, it is almost impossible to apply for something like this without any support.

- No Objection letter - yup a letter stating -

I (your landlord's name) the landlord hereby confirm that I do not have any objection if Mr. X’s spouse come to UK and stay with him at the above property.

- Tenancy agreement - what I have heard so far is that you should have at least 6 months remaining on your contract, otherwise I think the suggestion you made of having another property ready to move in should be enough to satisfy the officials. With this option you will need to get so much more needed to be done, such a pain!

- Overdraft - ECO's do not like overdrafts being used, but since you already used it. I would suggest you give a brief explanation for it so that the ECO can have some understanding on the overdraft.


Hope everything goes well.

[pepa]

Oh God after applying the first time - I thought I had it all sussed out this time as to what we need but I feel like Im at square one again - Argghhh I just want me and my husband to be able to live togethere!!

Thanks for your replys - Il have to get on to it!

[SoHopeful]

I can totally empathise. As i mentioned, i have been married since 2010 and still yet to apply for my husband as there was always something not 100% for us to be confident the application would be accepted. I am surprised they requested an actual inspection report for the accommodation. I thought your tenancy agreement and a letter would suffice for rental properties. As Harv says, yes it would be ok to show that you have a different property ready to move to once your spouse arrives. Simply explain it all as you have here in your letter.

With regards to the overdraft, again i agree with Harv, explain the situation. I have no savings, and i will be explaining in my letter that the reason for this is because maintaining a transatlantic relationship is COSTLY! I am hoping they can at least see the reality of things, not everyone is earning bucket loads to be able to save and spend simultaneously.

The problem is that the guidelines are left to interpretation by all... so advisors, applicants and ECOs themselves can all have difference of opinion as to what evidence is required. This is just the first hurdle for us on the journey with the HO, so i'm just trying to remain positive and learn to hoard paperwork lol.

[pepa]

Oh Im just getting so angry now. I was so mad when i saw this accommodation report on the refusal because until we got the refusal and until I joined this forum I had never even heard of it.

When do plan to apply So Hopeful? I want to get the application in around February time - before April as im worried what new immigration rules are going to imlemented.

As for savings we hardly have any either - I wish they would see the application realistically I mean what do they expect from a 23 and 24 year old who have'nt even started their lives properly yet (and weve spent alot of time living abroad).

I've posted on another topic to look into exercising my treaty right in Greece because now im getting to the point were I dont care were we live I just want us to be together (and I only saw him last week and im already going crazy) lol

[pepa]

Can anyone helo me with the following!?

Hoping to re-apply for my husbands visa at the end of the month! Although I am using lawyers both here and in Albania I will be completing the visa application form (when the lawyer did it before he totally messed it up and me and my husband just looked stupid)!

So my question is for the declaration do we just state that he completed it or can I put my details in the representative section?????

Also has anyone paid online before?? Does this speed up the process anymore as I read that the application does not begin until the payment has been made???

Thanks

[pepa]

Can anyone please help me with the above question???

Thanks

[pepa]

Hi PLEASE PLEASE can anyone help me

To try an cut a long story short.
1st visa refused in November 2011 because not enough proof of accomadation and for me not having a contract of employment (just a letter)

So i have been in england since then. Think i have covered accomadation with tenancy agreement, no objection letter from my parents and landlord, and because the agreement runs out in less then 6 months the landlord has stated that there will be no issue with renewing the contract. Also will be getting an "independent inspection" (which i think is just going to be a basic floor plan. I have also taken photos of the house.

Now employment has been abit of a run around. From November till now ive been working self-employed (i have the letters from inland revenue to show i am registered and my notice to say when i have to start making payments)

I had continued to work at my current job as my boss promised me that after 3 months he would give me a contract and take me off self-employed! HE HAS NOT! So i have now accepted another job at 22 hours a week 6.08 an hour AND i have a contract as bank staff (im a carer) .

Now the 22 hour contract should just cover me for the level of income support (after tax) and i dont really have any outgoings. The bank staff job (bank staff = as and when i can work etc) would be extra income! On the contract for bank staff it states that the post is bank for 13 weeks in which after a contract may be issued.

Now I have also got my mum and dads wages slips to show the household income (well over 35 thousand a year) Im just worried that my 22 hour contract would not be deemed enough hours (even though i will be wokring more then that). I cant continue with the self employed as it is not reliable enough (or thats what my lawyer told allthough now im starting to think i have made a mistake packing in that job as i would of had 5 months proof of work.)

Im not to worried about taking the new job and having 3 month of wages slips as in the previous refusal they were just concerned with having a contract.

Hope this is understandable - just hope someone can PLEASE help me with the employment side of things!!

THANKS

[pepa]

Any moderators can please help??????

Please please

[newlight1]

PAJOVE,

HOw did you get on? I am in a similat situation. I cant afford a solictor but maybe I would get legal aid?

[specofsunlight]

Hi,
Although the British Embassy in Tirana has acknowledged our relationship in full, my husband was refused his settlement visa application on the grounds that he entered the UK illegally (he returned willingly to Albania and we married there last August). We are now in the process of appealing but were told by our solicitor that we should first apply to the ECM (Entry Clearance Manager) at the British Embassy in Tirana. The whole process has been a nightmare and in addition there is now apparently a new payment process in the UK (where the payment for the appeal and review has to be made) and whilst the payment was taken out of our account 6 weeks ago we have been told that as a result of "teething problems" the payment has still not reached Tirana and therefore our application has not yet been acknowledged without any indication of when this is likely to happen (legislation says it should have happened within 28 days of our original application made on 05 April).

My question is does anyone know if it possible to go straight to appeal without having to go through the ECM review? We have now been told that the ECM review can take up to 90 days (19 weeks) and that they will not consider beginning to process the appeal until we recieve a decision and this will take another 6-8 months we were told originally that both procedures would happen simultaneously but this now does not seem to be the case. It now seems that we have to wait for the ECM review before we can appeal. As a result of the delays incurred by the new payment system which is completely different information to the information we were given by our immigration lawyer when we first initiated the appeal. I have already been apart from my husband for 10 months as a result of the length of time the visa application has taken and I am absolutely on the brink of despair. I don't even believe we have a hope that they will reverse the decision at the ECM reveiw because we had so much evidence of our relationship and very solid financial evidence of sponsorship and we were still unsuccessful despite our lawyer saying that there are no human rights grounds for the refusal.

If anyone has been through this process with the Home Office and dealings with Tirana pleas could you let me know. The anxiety and stress to my husband, myself and my children has become unbearable and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. So frustrating and this new delay by the Tribunal (Ministry of Justice) is unbelievable I can't think of another industry where you could get away with taking someones money and then saying you don't know when you will be able to provide the service. Despite calling weekly so far there is no progress and with no indication when the payment is likely to be transferred.

[newlight1]

specofsunlight, so sorry to hear you have to go through all of this. Its unbelieveable what you have to go though. I have heard that the Tirana British Embassy are notorious. Its incrediable what you have to go through.

I wish I could help in your situation, when you say

despite our lawyer saying that there are no human rights grounds for the refusal.

Do you mean that they breached your Human rights by not allowing your Husband to be with you in the UK?

So let me get this right, you have lodged an appeal. Does it come in two processes, you can ask for an Adim review right away, if that doesn't work, then you can appeal? Is that right?

[Greenie]

Hi,
Although the British Embassy in Tirana has acknowledged our relationship in full, my husband was refused his settlement visa application on the grounds that he entered the UK illegally (he returned willingly to Albania and we married there last August). We are now in the process of appealing but were told by our solicitor that we should first apply to the ECM (Entry Clearance Manager) at the British Embassy in Tirana. The whole process has been a nightmare and in addition there is now apparently a new payment process in the UK (where the payment for the appeal and review has to be made) and whilst the payment was taken out of our account 6 weeks ago we have been told that as a result of "teething problems" the payment has still not reached Tirana and therefore our application has not yet been acknowledged without any indication of when this is likely to happen (legislation says it should have happened within 28 days of our original application made on 05 April).

My question is does anyone know if it possible to go straight to appeal without having to go through the ECM review? We have now been told that the ECM review can take up to 90 days (19 weeks) and that they will not consider beginning to process the appeal until we recieve a decision and this will take another 6-8 months we were told originally that both procedures would happen simultaneously but this now does not seem to be the case. It now seems that we have to wait for the ECM review before we can appeal. As a result of the delays incurred by the new payment system which is completely different information to the information we were given by our immigration lawyer when we first initiated the appeal. I have already been apart from my husband for 10 months as a result of the length of time the visa application has taken and I am absolutely on the brink of despair. I don't even believe we have a hope that they will reverse the decision at the ECM reveiw because we had so much evidence of our relationship and very solid financial evidence of sponsorship and we were still unsuccessful despite our lawyer saying that there are no human rights grounds for the refusal.

If anyone has been through this process with the Home Office and dealings with Tirana pleas could you let me know. The anxiety and stress to my husband, myself and my children has become unbearable and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. So frustrating and this new delay by the Tribunal (Ministry of Justice) is unbelievable I can't think of another industry where you could get away with taking someones money and then saying you don't know when you will be able to provide the service. Despite calling weekly so far there is no progress and with no indication when the payment is likely to be transferred.

I think you need to ask your lawyer to explain the process to you again as you appear to be confused.

The process is that you recieve a decision and have 28 days to appeal. It used to be the case that you could lodge the appeal directly with the embassy or you could lodge it with the tribunal in the UK. (however in practice it didn't make much difference where the appeal was lodged, as it will still eventually be heard in the UK at the tribunal, the advantage of lodging it with the embassy was that the embassy would receive the appeal sooner and theoretically conduct the ECM review sooner but in many cases it actually slowed matters down due to the length of time it took for the appeal papers to be forwarded from the embassy to the tribunal).

The process has changed since they introduced fees for appeals meaning that the appeal can only be lodged directly with the tribunal. The fee is paid to the tribunal and is not sent to the embassy so I don't understand this part of your post. The fee is for the cost of the appeal at the tribunal, and not the cost of the ECM review.

The ECM review is part of the appeal process. You appeal to the tribunal and the ECM (entry clearance manager) is supposed to review the decision. In some cases the original decision will be overturned, in most cases the decision will stand and the case will proceed to a hearing in the UK. It is not that you have to wait for the ECM review in order to appeal, rather you appeal and you then wait for ECM review which is part of this process - you can't bypass this part of the process.

When you say that your husband's application was refused because he entered the UK illegally - what did the refusal say exactly about this?

See also Appeals - visas and entry clearance

Perhaps the delay is that the tribunal haven't sent the notice of receipt to the embassy yet?

[d2m]

hi I am new to this, i was wondering if anyone could help me with my situation...

I am british 20 years old and want to be with my albanian boyfriend who has no visa, what must we do to make it work??

please explain because i dont understand what needs to be done fully

thanks

[Lillybailey]

Hi i have a boyfriend in albania and i live in ireland but he whats to travel over to me i cant go course i have no passport and i have a youn baby girl to we what to gett married to and i have bin asking around and people are saying he can come over with no visa cz he is in the eu but when he asked over where he is they said he needs a gantrey i dont no what that is so if anyone can help me it would be great thank you

[Casa]

Hi i have a boyfriend in albania and i live in ireland but he whats to travel over to me i cant go course i have no passport and i have a youn baby girl to we what to gett married to and i have bin asking around and people are saying he can come over with no visa cz he is in the eu but when he asked over where he is they said he needs a gantrey i dont no what that is so if anyone can help me it would be great thank you

This thread is over 4 years old and much has changed in the Immigration Rules since 9th July 2012. I suggest that instead of tagging your questions onto an out-of-date thread that you open your own topic are post there.