Mistakes in processing a UK visit visa

A typical UK refusal letter for a visit visa often states that the applicant has been assessed under Paragraph V4.2 of Appendix V of the immigration law, as the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) indicated.

We will not delve into the specifics of that paragraph of the UK immigration law, but rather highlight the mistakes the ECO identified for this unsuccessful applicant.

The UK embassy or high commission is one of the few consular institutions that provide detailed refusal reasons specific to each visa application. This is in contrast to the US and Schengen embassies, which tend to provide generalized refusal reasons.

Focusing on the refusal letter, the ECO noted several key reasons for refusal based on the balance of probabilities — that is, it is more likely than not that the applicant will not return to their home country after their 15-day tourism trip. These reasons include:

• Lack of proof of a relationship with the stepfather (i.e., the sponsor).

• Lack of evidence of ownership of assets, and/or property.

• Reliance on third-party funding to cover the proposed trip.

• Failure to establish ties to the country of origin.

• Intentions to leave the UK were inaccurately presented.

• Omission of a personal statement showing savings.

• The sponsor’s failure to demonstrate that the applicant is their dependent.

• A planned, and credible itinerary for the 15-day tourism was not included.

• Lack of proof of arranged accommodation from the sponsor.

• The sponsor was probably not available to respond to calls from the ECO.

While the first five reasons may be apparent from the refusal letter, the reasons from number six onward might not be as obvious. Each application is assessed on different criteria, and applicant-specific refusal reasons are provided for those whose decisions were not positive.

This applicant may not have addressed these issues in their initial application but can easily rectify them upon re-application. If you have identified other refusal reasons specific to this refusal letter, please let us know.

In our next article, we will explore what the applicant can do to overturn the negative decision. Stay tuned.