Over the next month or so I would like to look with you at UK visa refusals, the reasons why many of them happen and the repercussions this can have on the applicant(s). This first instalment considers what, for most, is the beginning of the visa experience, the application form itself.
Applying for a UK Visa
Given the fact that re-locating your life and possibly the lives of your dependant family is viewed by most people as a huge responsibility and to many extents, a risk, albeit a potentially exciting one, applying for a UK visa can be an intimidating and stressful process. Add to this that it is not uncommon for applications to be refused and you can see why many applicants prefer to have a legal representative to turn to for advice or who will manage the process in its entirety.
Professionals who work on an everyday basis with UK immigration laws, the constant updating and amending of them and the associated administrative processes and procedures, inevitably have a greater understanding of what is required in order for an application to be successful.
Starting with the Visa Application form
A good place to start these blogs would seem to be the application form itself. It may seem an obvious statement but the application form is of the utmost importance as this is the only first-hand link that the Home Office has to the applicant. As a result, not only must the application form be completed as thoroughly and accurately as possible but it must be the correct application form for the route you are applying down. If you use the wrong form this may lead to your application being rejected as invalid and result in your entry clearance being delayed by weeks or months.
if you are already here in the UK the result can be even more damaging; if your current leave expires during the time it takes for the Home Office to invalidate your application then you risk becoming an ‘overstayer’. This in turn may mean that you are then unable to work or study, whilst on top of this, you need to find time and focus for what rapidly becomes an increasingly complex and protracted legal situation.
In addition to applying on the correct form, the information within the form itself must be comprehensive and accurate. This in itself is often difficult as questions can be counter-intuitive and there is little opportunity to expand on your answers outside the form’s strict parameters.
Furthermore, if incomplete or inaccurate, the UKVI will most likely not request the relevant details and/or confirmation of their accuracy from you. Even when they do, their communications can be ambiguous and indirect, as they must legally remain as impartial and as remote from influencing an applicant’s decisions/answers as possible.
What is more, inaccurate information, although for the vast majority of the time supplied unintentionally, out of human error or uncertainty, can be construed by the decision maker as deceptive through the supplying of misleading information or conversely by withholding information. This may in turn result in an entry ban of 10 years with immediate effect, rendering subsequent applications deemed refusable without further consideration.
Finding your way through the visa application process can be confusing
Given that the above is only a short summary of the risks involved in the selection and completion of the application form itself, it is easy to see how finding your way through the visa application process can quickly become a confusing and if not done correctly first-time around, stressful and increasingly expensive procedure.
Seeking the expert guidance of a qualified and regulated immigration adviser can help to mitigate the chances of a refusal happening and in turn assist in making the re-location of the applicant and their family the exciting next chapter of their lives that it should be.
