So Monday I wrote to the Croydon complaints department of UK Immigration and they would have received it yesterday. I specified my objections to the refusal and actually decided to include some outcomes with the idea that they can compensate me for wasting my time and money.
Here's my outcome requirements that I included with my complaint:
1) A 6-month tourist VISA without having to submit another application to Bangkok or pay any more money
2) A free upgrade to the visa from 6 Months (our application) to 2-Years (the next one up) as compensation for the inconvenience.
3) A refund of my fee (£91) for the inconvenience.
4) A payment of 5,000 baht (£100) by way of compensation, to cover the money I spent on bus ticket, hotel, taxi and food for my wife to go to Bangkok to deliver the pointless application.
Obviously, 1 and 2 are the bare minimum and 3 and 4 are possibly chancing my arm! But, as the TV advert goes (Vodafone) "you get nothing unless you ask".
I am now awaiting the response, which may be a few weeks. The good news and why I decided to go this route is entirely due to our UK friends and their wives. One couple had their 6 month tourist visa refused and it went to court, which is free. The guy attended at the time specified and he and the Judge were the only ones in the courtroom. UK Immigration just sent a note giving the reasons and did not even bother to attend. The Judge listened carefully to the guy's real explanations and then awarded the visa. The Immigration department then have 28 days to appeal, which they didn't but it still took them a long time to issue the visa.
All in all 4-6 months. I'm not really bothered how long, it is the principle that we're fighting - corruption and deception and politics, all things you would not expect of the UK system, but nevertheless true. At least in foreign countries you would expect it, and could sort it with a wedge of cash.
I was told to let it go, it is the system and you have to work within the system. But the system is broke, unjust and corrupt. The government get two lots of cash for all the ones who are refused and then decide to reapply - when conveniently the application is approved. I have come across this sort of thing before and it does not scare me, it just makes me very angry and more determined. It is not the faceless bureaucrats who have to live with the decision, it is real people with real lives.
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Showing posts with label UK border. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK border. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Friday, May 06, 2016
Visa for UK from non-EEA country
Let me tell you a story. It is a story of discrimination and subterfuge in which I am a involuntary player. When I became involved in this story, I had no prior knowledge of the system or events leading us to our current place, where we wait with bated breath for a result.
Knowing as I do, my fears are such that the deliberate sabotage of application by visa staff (VFS Global, on behalf of the UK Immigration Department) due to "unwritten" quotas, means that our latest application will probably be returned as refused.
This is a situation that is wrong. If you complete a lengthy application and provide all necessary documentation, it should go through for review and decision and not have some lackey try to find an excuse to reject it.
Yes, it happens. The staff can take out part of the paperwork and tell you that you don't need it, yet upon refusal you find the reason was because the part removed was required. There's no refund of your fees.
In our case the photographs (we had specially made) were given back as not required. After checking it out on the Visa website I discovered the rules had changed for those offering biometrics in their application and photos are no longer needed. Phew.
Other nasty tricks are to ask loaded questions of seemingly naive Thai ladies who may not have experienced the underhanded nature of visa application staff who only have one thing on their mind.
For example, they will ring up the lady and request they answer questions such as who they are visiting (full names and ages), places and distances, where these places are (in terms of time - 2 hours from London), etc. My lady was prepared for this and had a written list of answers, such as the names of my parents, the house address, the layout of the house, what she intended doing while staying with me, etc. We think they did call but luckily it was cut off upon answering.
This time she was asked questions about the visa type and some of the conversation appears to fit the bill of sabotage, simply because all the answers were in the application the purpose of the questioning being to find an excuse for refusal by trickery.
A lot of the visa application companies spend a long time with the ladies coaching them what to say but also what they must not say. Ours has become complacent and disinterested in us and the advice (or lack of it) means I will not be using them again. This time around there was very little coaching and my request for help subsequently has so far been disregarded.
Even with a history of a successful 6 month visit (well actually 5 months because the tight-assed Immigration Department back date the visa to the date of application, which was 3 weeks prior) the next applications are still precarious and treated separately.
This time we'd like to have applied for the 2 year tourist visa however in the space of the Songkran holiday (4 days), the option had been removed from the selection process on the website. It meant that only a one-off 6 month visa was available and also means that further applications would be necessary in the future.
Any non-EEA citizen has to show they have the financial funding (or support) for the duration of the trip, a return ticket and a desire to return to their home country (a job or family ties or both) plus the basics of being a visitor to the UK includes knowledge of the destination.
I despair why foreign people bother coming to the UK, the whole process is humiliating and degrading. Yes, the UK doesn't want every tom dick and harry, but I believe it is a little late for that, when all and sundry can come from Europe with no limits or requirements, such as being able to speak English.
Don't get me started on the settlement visa requirements, that include having an English examination certificate!
Let's also not talk about the sponsor's (e.g. ME) income criteria that stands at £18,600 per year that the government have set. Even as full time employed, I never earned that level of salary. You cannot apply for a visa if the sponsor doesn't have that income. To be fair, the income can be made of separate sources.
Luckily for me there is (at the moment) a get out clause for those such as myself who are on DLA benefit; we don't need to meet this level of income, which you must prove in writing.
Finally, I must mention the Landing Card... I have no doubt it is a piece of documentation with the goal of making it as difficult as possible for people. This card is given out on the aircraft shortly before arrival. It is in English and according to research I did it must be completed in English. There are translations to French and Spanish, but this card is for NON - EEA countries and at last glance, France and Spain were in the EU and not required to complete these waste of space documents!
So, if you're Non-EEA, the likelihood is English, French and Spanish will not be your first language, although arguably French and Spanish could be for some countries! In the case of Thailand, none of these fit.
My wife is expected to complete this on her own and will be asked if she did it herself or someone else did it for her (not that she would be able to understand the conversation). All the information is available in the passport. To even board the plane she has to show the visa, which gives permission to arrive in the UK, and that shows the duration and other information.
God forbid you tell them you're staying for six months (on a six month visa). No, the advice we got was to tell them 2 weeks maximum. But, logically, if they looked at the return ticket they'd see it wasn't two weeks... Which, would then get you deported because you lied.
On this trip my wife will be coming through UK Border alone. I will be very annoyed if she doesn't make it through without hassle, because they will, it's guaranteed, ask questions such as "how long are you staying?" (it's on the landing card), "where are you staying?" (its on the landing card).
I was at the airport recently and I observed them asking the very same questions of some Australians. Last time I answered for her, because she came through with me and I was able to tell the guy "she doesn't speak English" but I wont be there this time .
Knowing as I do, my fears are such that the deliberate sabotage of application by visa staff (VFS Global, on behalf of the UK Immigration Department) due to "unwritten" quotas, means that our latest application will probably be returned as refused.
This is a situation that is wrong. If you complete a lengthy application and provide all necessary documentation, it should go through for review and decision and not have some lackey try to find an excuse to reject it.
Yes, it happens. The staff can take out part of the paperwork and tell you that you don't need it, yet upon refusal you find the reason was because the part removed was required. There's no refund of your fees.
In our case the photographs (we had specially made) were given back as not required. After checking it out on the Visa website I discovered the rules had changed for those offering biometrics in their application and photos are no longer needed. Phew.
Other nasty tricks are to ask loaded questions of seemingly naive Thai ladies who may not have experienced the underhanded nature of visa application staff who only have one thing on their mind.
For example, they will ring up the lady and request they answer questions such as who they are visiting (full names and ages), places and distances, where these places are (in terms of time - 2 hours from London), etc. My lady was prepared for this and had a written list of answers, such as the names of my parents, the house address, the layout of the house, what she intended doing while staying with me, etc. We think they did call but luckily it was cut off upon answering.
This time she was asked questions about the visa type and some of the conversation appears to fit the bill of sabotage, simply because all the answers were in the application the purpose of the questioning being to find an excuse for refusal by trickery.
A lot of the visa application companies spend a long time with the ladies coaching them what to say but also what they must not say. Ours has become complacent and disinterested in us and the advice (or lack of it) means I will not be using them again. This time around there was very little coaching and my request for help subsequently has so far been disregarded.
Even with a history of a successful 6 month visit (well actually 5 months because the tight-assed Immigration Department back date the visa to the date of application, which was 3 weeks prior) the next applications are still precarious and treated separately.
This time we'd like to have applied for the 2 year tourist visa however in the space of the Songkran holiday (4 days), the option had been removed from the selection process on the website. It meant that only a one-off 6 month visa was available and also means that further applications would be necessary in the future.
Any non-EEA citizen has to show they have the financial funding (or support) for the duration of the trip, a return ticket and a desire to return to their home country (a job or family ties or both) plus the basics of being a visitor to the UK includes knowledge of the destination.
I despair why foreign people bother coming to the UK, the whole process is humiliating and degrading. Yes, the UK doesn't want every tom dick and harry, but I believe it is a little late for that, when all and sundry can come from Europe with no limits or requirements, such as being able to speak English.
Don't get me started on the settlement visa requirements, that include having an English examination certificate!
Let's also not talk about the sponsor's (e.g. ME) income criteria that stands at £18,600 per year that the government have set. Even as full time employed, I never earned that level of salary. You cannot apply for a visa if the sponsor doesn't have that income. To be fair, the income can be made of separate sources.
Luckily for me there is (at the moment) a get out clause for those such as myself who are on DLA benefit; we don't need to meet this level of income, which you must prove in writing.
So, if you're Non-EEA, the likelihood is English, French and Spanish will not be your first language, although arguably French and Spanish could be for some countries! In the case of Thailand, none of these fit.
My wife is expected to complete this on her own and will be asked if she did it herself or someone else did it for her (not that she would be able to understand the conversation). All the information is available in the passport. To even board the plane she has to show the visa, which gives permission to arrive in the UK, and that shows the duration and other information.
God forbid you tell them you're staying for six months (on a six month visa). No, the advice we got was to tell them 2 weeks maximum. But, logically, if they looked at the return ticket they'd see it wasn't two weeks... Which, would then get you deported because you lied.
On this trip my wife will be coming through UK Border alone. I will be very annoyed if she doesn't make it through without hassle, because they will, it's guaranteed, ask questions such as "how long are you staying?" (it's on the landing card), "where are you staying?" (its on the landing card).
I was at the airport recently and I observed them asking the very same questions of some Australians. Last time I answered for her, because she came through with me and I was able to tell the guy "she doesn't speak English" but I wont be there this time .
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