EEA FM refused again: HO doesnt receive or look at evidence!

[SeekingRest]

Hello everyone!

we really need your help, we are getting desparate. I'm a German doing a PhD in Britain and married to a Chinese. She applied for the EEA FM shortly after we got married but this got refused, partly because they did not receive my German passport as in the Chinese application centre my partner was told it was not sent off and given back to may partner immediately for some asinine reason. For more background on that, see this thread immigration-for-family-members/marry-he ... 21820.html

We submitted absolutely every required document, but got refused by the HO again now for completely invalid reasons! They either did not receive or did not look at the provided documents. They even say in the refusal letter for example that they did not receive my bank statements although she brought them to the application centre along with all other documents?! So something has gone wrong (AGAIN) when sending the documents to the HO, or they are flat out ignored!

How to appeal now? And how to make absolutely sure that the documents are actually arriving and will be considered? And how to do this quickly? This situation is insane, we have a book full of documents (see list at the end) and my partner is basically having a mental breakdown at this point - she even has a job offer in the UK waiting for her, but she is stuck working remotely in China for months as no matter how much evidence we provide, it doesn't even reach the eyes of the assessors.

Below is the refusal letter, and my refutation of all the arguments that are made here:

You state you last met your spouse on 21 January 2017 but have not stated on your visa application form how you maintain contact since you last met.

First off, is this even relevant? Secondly, we provided Whatsapp call logs demonstrating basically daily correspondence until about the 18.02. before we had to submit the application (which took over two weeks despite premium service). Do we have to specifically state somewhere that we maintain contact over Whatsapp?

Moreover you have provided no other evidence of contact between you and your husband by any other means.

Complete lie! We provided in the range of 50 Whatsapp chat screenshots showing our conversations over the past year, which have dates embedded in them! Additionally there is the call logs that also cover April 15 to 18.02.! Did these not arrive at the HO? Or were they flat out ignored? They are not acknowledged anywhere in the letter!

You have failed to provide evidence of your wedding ceremony such as photos.

Well, we did provide quite a few other dated photographs, plus one that shows us just before the ceremony. Also it's not a requirement to provide photo evidence of the marriage specifically, so that's not an argument.

I note that you have provided some undated photos and some dated photos of you and your husband together from 19 to 21 December 2015

The photos were all dated, and cover the whole last year! My partner's phone records the dates on which pictures are made, and we provided screenshots from within the Album app which shows the date along with the picture! So again they ignored evidence!

I also not that you state that your husband is employed by [Company name that employs/wants to employ my PARTNER, not ME] but you have provided no evidence of this or of your husband's personal and financial circumstances in the United Kingdom.

We stated everywhere that SHE is employed by this company, not ME, and that I am studying at University. Again documents are ignored or overlooked or not properly read. We DID provide my bank statements with PhD salary visible on it, a University letter stating my current occupation, an offer letter from her company etc.

None of the documents listed, including [MY] bank statements for the last six months and a letter from his University, were not submitted

First of all note the double negative here, but it seems what they mean is that they actually didn't get most of the documents. WHY? HOW?! Thats not our fault!

... I am not satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for issung you with an EEA family permit for the following reason: I can find no evidence that there is anything to prevent you and your spouse from co-habiting and enjoying a family life in your country of current residence

That can't be legitimate reason to refuse an EEA FM to just say that I should go to China, right? What a slap in the face that statement is!

List of documents that we submitted
Her online application form, passport photos, passport, offer letter from her company
My cerified passport copy
Marriage certificate
Our recent bank statements
My support letter
Support letters from two friends from the UK confirming that our relationship is genuine
Support letter from my parents
My affidavit swearing that I am married to her, in a genuine relationship and residing here
Tenancy agreement of our flat
My university letter stating my occupation, salary etc
Dated photographs covering a one year period
Whatsapp Call logs demonstrating very frequent calls between April 16 and 18.02.17 (the ones before were lost)
Over 50 whatsapp screenshots of the chat log, with dates embedded, proving correspondence at least every few days or once a week (in reality it's more than that but for privacy reasons and to not swamp them, we did not include more)
Comprehensive sickness insurance document
Tickets/bookings of past shared trips to the US
Photo of our flat to prove there is enough space for us
And probably more, which I forgot to mention now...

Thanks for your attention. Anything helps. My partner is almost at the point where she doesn't want to come anymore...

[SeekingRest]

If a mod could please move this to the EEA subforum. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[Tamandua]

First off, is this even relevant? Secondly, we provided Whatsapp call logs demonstrating basically daily correspondence until about the 18.02. before we had to submit the application (which took over two weeks despite premium service). Do we have to specifically state somewhere that we maintain contact over Whatsapp?

I don't think they are accepting call logs from WhatsApp, FaceTime etc. I also provided call logs to support my first application which was refused. They stated my relationship was not 'genuine and subsisting' - I was studying in the UK while my British husband was working abroad. They said I failed to provide 'official documents' as proof of communication. From my point of view, they want to see phone bills rather than call logs, which is ridiculous as nowadays we only need Internet access to keep in touch with our significant other.
Perhaps, you can appeal on this ground? Maybe write a cover letter with your application mentioning the technology?

To me, things like this are used as an excuse to cynically refuse applications as part of immigration control.

Well, we did provide quite a few other dated photographs, plus one that shows us just before the ceremony. Also it's not a requirement to provide photo evidence of the marriage specifically, so that's not an argument.

They want to see if it was a big ceremony or just marriage of convenience. But I agree with you. That's not a requirement. Perhaps next time explain why you both decided to get married in LV.

The photos were all dated, and cover the whole last year! My partner's phone records the dates on which pictures are made, and we provided screenshots from within the Album app which shows the date along with the picture! So again they ignored evidence!

Do you have pictures of you guys from previous years? How long have you been in a relationship? A year is more like 'boyfriend and girlfriend'.

We stated everywhere that SHE is employed by this company, not ME, and that I am studying at University. Again documents are ignored or overlooked or not properly read. We DID provide my bank statements with PhD salary visible on it, a University letter stating my current occupation, an offer letter from her company etc.

Make sure you are very clear next time because some case workers can be very cynical.

Do the documents have to be sent to the UK or the country your wife is applying from?

That can't be legitimate reason to refuse an EEA FM to just say that I should go to China, right? What a slap in the face that statement is!

Pretty much. They told me that my husband, a British citizen, can remain in Spain(!), even though we stated the company he works for was going to transfer him back to the UK (the only problem is that the evidence wasn't sent at the time of my application).

So, you are a EU national residing in the UK. I assume you are a qualified person. They have no reasons to prevent you from having a family life in your country of residence which is the UK. You either appeal or send a new application with a cover letter. Quote the regulation. An immigration lawyer will be able to assist you.

[SeekingRest]

It seems like there are two problems that compound each other: the Chinese application centre is too incompetent to transfer all the documents we provide to the HO, and the ECO at the HO is very harsh (i.e. completely unfair) plus he doesn't get to see all of the documents.

I don't think they are accepting call logs from WhatsApp, FaceTime etc. [...] which is ridiculous as nowadays we only need Internet access to keep in touch with our significant other.
Perhaps, you can appeal on this ground? Maybe write a cover letter with your application mentioning the technology?

It's good to talk with others that fight a similar battle. Yes we will make clear on our cover letter that we communicate exclusively via Whatsapp. We will also refute the previous rejection letter point by point, and state that in case that any documents are missing, we can provide them instantly. The crazy thing is that we were told by the immigration firm that they are not even required to ask for further documents in case they are missing, they can just flat out reject you instantly.

Do you have pictures of you guys from previous years? How long have you been in a relationship? A year is more like 'boyfriend and girlfriend'.

No, it has been only one year. I agree that this is relatively short, but it should be more than enough to show that it is a genuine relationship and not a marriage of convenience.

Make sure you are very clear next time because some case workers can be very cynical.

We were clear about our occupation the last time already, but maybe we can find a way to make it even clearer. However, we are getting quite hopeless as it seems they always find a way to misconstrue sth and invent arbitrary reasons to deny your right for family life.

Do the documents have to be sent to the UK or the country your wife is applying from?

She goes to an application centre in China, and from there the documents are sent to the HO - or that's how it SHOULD work. The first time they just quietly handed her back my passport copy instead of sending it off, which led to a flat out rejection without appeal rights as they had no proof of my German nationality.

This time it seems like some part of the documents did not arrive such as my University letter, but maybe others. But we don't knwo for sure since the process is not transparent and we don't get any confirmation about which documents are received!

So, you are a EU national residing in the UK. I assume you are a qualified person. They have no reasons to prevent you from having a family life in your country of residence which is the UK. You either appeal or send a new application with a cover letter. Quote the regulation. An immigration lawyer will be able to assist you.

Thanks for the response. Yes I am a qualified person as far as I know.

Do you know how much an appeal costs and how long it takes? The government site says 80/140 Pounds, but the immigration firm said it would be in the thousands and take about 6 months, which is not acceptable for us as she is basically sitting around in China working remotely isolated from everyone, waiting to come back to me and her job that she would lose otherwise...

Finally, is there anything we can do to make sure the HO will receive all the documents the next time, and get a more detailed confirmation about which documents were received?

[Mpmp16]

Hello SeekingRest
Yesterday my husband got his family permit refused with almost exactly the same refusal letter.
We also submit photographs, whats app chats and many many more... and all of them been ignored!
thats the link to my topic:
eea-route-applications/fp-refused-ho-ig ... 28676.html

I understand you very well.
We are planning to reapply. Solicitor is helping us to create the cover letter to highlight the fact what happened last time,so they maybe pay more attention to what they do the next time.
But i also feel very concern that HO might just simply ignore the documents again like they did last time.

[SeekingRest]

Thanks for your input mpmp16. Where is your husband at the moment (from which country is he applying)?
Do you think we might have actually gotten the exact same caseworker on our applications, so it could have been just bad luck with the caseworker? Because even for those documents that did arrive he/she misread some information about my occupation.

My wife is already becoming depressed due to being ripped out of our life in the UK and our options are running out. If an appeal takes six months or more, then it's almost as if it's not an option in the first place.

And we cannot find a good way of making sure all evidence is considered. I guess the best we can do is urge the people at the application centre to send it off properly, to list/explain all evidence on the cover letter, say that documents were not considered/did not arrive last time and state that they should ask for missing documents instead of refusing... Would you agree?

[Mpmp16]

Dear SeekingRest
My husband applied from India, and we were waiting for a decision for around 3 weeks.
I think It is possible that it was the same caseworker as all of the applications are being send to Sheffield these days, so you never know.
As I spoke to my solicitor and I am planing to send an email with complaint to VFS visa center which my husband was applying from.. as it might be their fault that they did not scanned documents properly.
Funny enough, they also misread our information, on refusal letter they say that we last seen each other on 22nd January where on application clearly says 25th!! God how unbelievable is that!!
We are also same like you preparing a cover letter to mention the fact that all of the documents were submitted already and been ignored! I do want to make it quite clear for HO that we expect that application will be reconsidered with more care this time. I do completely agree with you that we should be requested to submit missing documents not just refused!
I also was thinking about emailing our local MP to explain what happen and see if it's possible that he could influence that another application will be treated more seriously. I do think that whatever they did to us it's simply illegal and highly nonprofessional! Maybe it would be worth mentioning this to MP.. what do you think?
I am scared that might go to the point that we need to appeal if they reject this application. Firstly because it takes so much time as well as it's very expensive! And we already spend extreme amount of money for "fighting" with HO
Me and my husband we were separated for an year already and its just unfair that we need to wait even longer just because of someone's incompetence!
I am meeting with a solicitor this week to discuss the steps we are going to take in more detail, so I can share what she says here, if you would like?

[Tamandua]

You said you provided a letter issued by your university. Does it say you are enrolled as a PHD student etc? Is that your only occupation in the UK? If so, *I think* you need comprehensive sickness insurance in order to be a qualified person. Can anyone correct me if I'm wrong?

I'm not sure if this applies to you: a friend of mine (non-EEA, visa free) came to the UK with her husband (EEA national) and applied for the residence from within the UK. They had it refused because the EEA national didn't provide evidence that he was a job seeker. They appealed (in-country appeal), the EEA national got a job and the whole process was successful eventually.

Maybe your wife can do the same? Does she need a visa to travel to the UK?

I don't know how much you have to pay for the out-of-country appeal because I didn't appeal; I sent a fresh application instead. All I know is that my friend paid £80 for the in-country appeal.

The HO can't refuse your wife's application unless, as you said, they didn't receive the relevant documents.

In my refusal letter (I took the UK route as my husband is British), the HO stated that my husband can remain in Spain and even cited EU law and how I could join him in Spain in line with paragraph X of the regulation.

So, if, according to the HO, a British citizen can live in Spain with his non-EEA spouse then you, a qualified person from Germany, can live in the UK with your non-EEA wife under EEA regulation.

In your new application, maybe mention that you think they didn't receive the relevant documents and stress the fact that you are studying in the UK (provide clear evidence that you are a student and a qualified person in accordance with EEA regulations) and, once again, cite the law with the help of a solicitor.
Make sure you state the documents are being provided with the application. Make a list.

[SeekingRest]

You said you provided a letter issued by your university. Does it say you are enrolled as a PHD student etc? Is that your only occupation in the UK? If so, *I think* you need comprehensive sickness insurance in order to be a qualified person. Can anyone correct me if I'm wrong?

[...]

Maybe your wife can do the same? Does she need a visa to travel to the UK?

You are right. As stated in my first post, we provided the policy document of our comprehensive sickness insurance that covers both of us, and the University letter that states my PhD employment, salaray, expected date of completion etc. So we already submitted absolutely everything that could or is required...

The HO can't refuse your wife's application unless, as you said, they didn't receive the relevant documents.

I guess that is what it comes down to - we have all the documents (and many more), but somehow a part of them always get lost and we cannot prove that, or provide further documents because instead we get instantly rejected. It's an utterly ridiculous and stressful situation.

In your new application, maybe mention that you think they didn't receive the relevant documents and stress the fact that you are studying in the UK (provide clear evidence that you are a student and a qualified person in accordance with EEA regulations) and, once again, cite the law with the help of a solicitor.
Make sure you state the documents are being provided with the application. Make a list.

Thanks, that is good advice. Her immigration company is now drafting a cover letter that refutes all the previous arguments, explains what went wrong the last times (documents got lost), and that they should ask us give us the chance of submitting those documents if they don't receive them or want more.

All I know is that my friend paid £80 for the in-country appeal.

That is what I saw on the government website, too, so it seems it only costs more if you want to have professional advice or legal representatives/lawyers by your side? The immigration company said it would cost us thousands of pounds if we engaged them.

I think It is possible that it was the same caseworker as all of the applications are being send to Sheffield these days, so you never know.

Yeah, lets hope that this is the case and we were just unlucky with a draconian caseworker, because your situation does sound very similar - no proper reading of our documents, baseless arguments, and flat-out refusal...

I also was thinking about emailing our local MP

Good idea, why not? I don't have much hope that this helps us immediately, but maybe prevents further trouble in the future for us and for others if politicians become aware of the problem, and how the HO just does whatever it wants with little protection for the applicant. This institution needs a bit more oversight, and stricter regulations to protect the rights of the applicants. Not least because it makes very important decisions that change people's lives.

I am meeting with a solicitor this week to discuss the steps we are going to take in more detail, so I can share what she says here, if you would like?

Yeah, many thanks, love to hear what the solicitor says! I'll keep this thread up-to-date, too, hope it helps as well.