Guest kseatonqld Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 My husband is a dual citizen and myself and our three children applied in may. It took 58 working days for them to send us a regection letter - because we didn't put his british passport in the envelope. Instead of asking for us to send them the passport, they regected us! Now we have to appeal by sending his passport (well, a copy signed by a notary republic costing us $70) to the british tribunal, which should then be accepted, this is then sent back to canberra to be approved and finally to us. When we asked why it took them 58 days to tell us we should have sent in his passport, they said it was an oversight. Now we are sitting in limbo waiting AGAIn for the british high commision to make up their minds. They said it could take anywhere from 28 days to a year!!! I am sick to my stomach with the lack of feedback / communication from the british high commision - how hard is it to e-mail and ask for a passport to be sent. A lot easier than making us wait so long to be regected and another couple of months for the matter to be dealt with in england! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Oh no ... sorry to hear about that!!! We had exactly the same thing happen to us. We applied in April - took 60 working days for the rejection notice. Posted my appeal and his passport to Canberra office. According to the documentation available online - the ECM (Entry Clearance Manager) can reverse the decision if you've provided the correct documents - and they can do this at any time in the process. So, it shouldn't take a year. Our documents arrived at UK Border Agency on 28/6 and I have heard nothing yet from them yet ... but it all looks so cut and dried that I can't imagine it taking too long for them to sort out. So keep positive ... I'll post again on here when the visa comes through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 My husband is a dual citizen and myself and our three children applied in may. It took 58 working days for them to send us a regection letter - because we didn't put his british passport in the envelope. Instead of asking for us to send them the passport, they regected us! Now we have to appeal by sending his passport (well, a copy signed by a notary republic costing us $70) to the british tribunal, which should then be accepted, this is then sent back to canberra to be approved and finally to us. When we asked why it took them 58 days to tell us we should have sent in his passport, they said it was an oversight. Now we are sitting in limbo waiting AGAIn for the british high commision to make up their minds. They said it could take anywhere from 28 days to a year!!! I am sick to my stomach with the lack of feedback / communication from the british high commision - how hard is it to e-mail and ask for a passport to be sent. A lot easier than making us wait so long to be regected and another couple of months for the matter to be dealt with in england! Just letting you all know that after a bit of letter writing to the High Commission in Canberra and a physical letter to the UK Border Agency outlining my situation (detailing that we had a wedding to attend to in September and that both my partner and my contract's had just finished and we were going to be financially disadvantaged by the delay) - the High Commission in Canberra rang me personally this morning at 7.20am to tell me that the original visa decision has been overturned and we will get our passport back in three days. So, don't send your document to the UK (if you haven't already). Send the appeal in to the UK Border Agency in Canberra, include a letter saying what circumstances you are in and hopefully the ECM will be able to review your application quickly. Good Luck! ... We're now busy booking our big move, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 7.20am! I hope that means people are working extra hours to process these visas! Anyway, congratulations, great news. Glad someone there saw common sense at last. Best of luck with your move. Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 7.20am! I hope that means people are working extra hours to process these visas! Anyway, congratulations, great news. Glad someone there saw common sense at last. Best of luck with your move. Kate And it was nice to be able to speak to a real human for once ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kyliecherry Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I’m so happy I found this forum!! As an Aussie, married to an Englishman and waiting for my Settlement Visa for the UK to come through, there isn’t a lot of info around. While ideally none of us would be enduring this agonising wait, it is comforting to see there are a few people going through a similar thing as we speak. We passed day 35 yesterday, and we have about 4 weeks to go before things start getting extremely hairy for us. At the moment, I just feel kinda annoyed rather than stressed – we both suffered enough stress trying to get all the docs together, and having to second guess all of the never-quite-right advice we received from a range of sources (including Immigration Lawyers in both the UK and Aus!). Plus, we currently live in Adelaide and we had to fly to Sydney to get the Biometrics done to complete the application, then Australia Post didn’t track our parcel which we though was lost etc etc… never ending, basically! We’ve been dealing with it for so long now we both just feel kind of numb to it. Anyway it all looks good for us – we haven’t been married very long but have plenty to substantiate our relationship & all the other criteria so it’s just a waiting game really. My Husband has to leave the country on 19th September so let’s just hope it come through in advance of then! In the meantime, I enjoy reading this thread, it makes me feel better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Good luck! Only 2% of Australian applications are rejected in the first instance - that's what I keep telling myself!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kyliecherry Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Cheers - fortunately I feel confident on that side of things, it's just the waiting and cutting it so fine time wise now. Hopefully I will have a positive outcome to post on here soon enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Congrats David Glad to here that it has all worked out and the appeal has gone through relatively quickly! I have just had a text from my girlfriend this morning to let me know they are now getting married on 20 November (engagement was only last weekend!). I was looking forward to a summer wedding next year but now I just have my fingers and toes crossed that everything pans out to get there... Day 22 today....everything arrives in the UK at the end of this week and finish work at the end of next. It is likely to be a bit more travelling in Oz than we originally planned but I guess at least we can afford to do it! Necole Just letting you all know that after a bit of letter writing to the High Commission in Canberra and a physical letter to the UK Border Agency outlining my situation (detailing that we had a wedding to attend to in September and that both my partner and my contract's had just finished and we were going to be financially disadvantaged by the delay) - the High Commission in Canberra rang me personally this morning at 7.20am to tell me that the original visa decision has been overturned and we will get our passport back in three days. So, don't send your document to the UK (if you haven't already). Send the appeal in to the UK Border Agency in Canberra, include a letter saying what circumstances you are in and hopefully the ECM will be able to review your application quickly. Good Luck! ... We're now busy booking our big move, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kyliecherry Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Just to keep this rolling: Name/initials: KC Date of email confirming receipt: 16 June 2010 Intended date of travel listed: 11 September 2010 Visa not yet granted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheekybaby44 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Name/initials: AH Date of email confirming receipt: May 25 2010 Intended date of travel listed: Unsure, July sometime Visa not yet granted I got a call from BHC in Canberra 2 weeks ago asking about our new wedding date (on application it was for 21st July 2010 but bank took so long to send out their statements which then had to be couriered to NZ that it delayed our application being sent by a month). The lady on the phone advised my application had been processed and was now being sent (to another department?!) for a decision to be made. Was kind of excited as I actually had contact with them but still no email... Up to 53 working days so far. Am getting worried as I've got my flight booked for August 26th (I've given them the full 60 days and then a few more as well as leaving a week for them to get my passport back to me). Hubby has been in London this whole time, I didn't think 4 months apart would be this hard. We've been together 20 months, 1/5 of my relationship has been spent in another country. :arghh: Just wondering: have most of you had phone or in person interviews? PS This thread is fantastic. Am gutted I didn't find it earlier!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Name/initials: AHDate of email confirming receipt: May 25 2010 Intended date of travel listed: Unsure, July sometime Visa not yet granted I got a call from BHC in Canberra 2 weeks ago asking about our new wedding date (on application it was for 21st July 2010 but bank took so long to send out their statements which then had to be couriered to NZ that it delayed our application being sent by a month). The lady on the phone advised my application had been processed and was now being sent (to another department?!) for a decision to be made. Was kind of excited as I actually had contact with them but still no email... Up to 53 working days so far. Am getting worried as I've got my flight booked for August 26th (I've given them the full 60 days and then a few more as well as leaving a week for them to get my passport back to me). Hubby has been in London this whole time, I didn't think 4 months apart would be this hard. We've been together 20 months, 1/5 of my relationship has been spent in another country. :arghh: Just wondering: have most of you had phone or in person interviews? PS This thread is fantastic. Am gutted I didn't find it earlier!! no interviews or phone calls (except for the one after my appeal) .... you'll probably get an email any day now .... don't woory just yet .... 54 days was pretty common to get a response. Mine took slightly longer than that - just on 60 ... but my first decision was initially a refusal. They have really strong deadlines to get 95% decided by 60 days and it would have to be a really good reason to go beyond that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Hi there! Do you mean interviews by the UKBA? Most people don't have any interview, they are rare. I know one girl who had a face to face interview, and she said it was very straightforward and over in ten minutes. Haven't seen my husband since January 25, as he had to go back to find work and a flat, and that took longer than anticipated. We are going to spend our first wedding anniversary apart too. Thrilled about that. Remind me why I'm so desperate to live in UK again!??! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheekybaby44 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 KG1978, Um not sure what I meant by interviews, assumed it would be the BHC office in Canberra but could have meant UKBA. You poor thing, 6 months! Thank god for modern communication, it's been a sanity saver being able to have skype video conversations..... incubus1971, I hope you're right. I really don't think I could handle it if I have to push my flights back again. We've got LED festival booked for the weekend I get back and then Bestival two weekends after that. Hoping to catch some of that UK summer that I've been unfortunate enough to miss! Positive thoughts, positive thoughts, positive thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 as long as you sent all the right docs you'll be fine. I'm confused though - what visa have you applied for, settlement as a spouse, or a fiance visa? The bit about the changed wedding date has confused me! You're married and have sent your marriage certificate to BHC, is that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheekybaby44 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Applying for fiancee visa, which is considered settlement for processing damnit. Was hoping for a summer wedding but guess I'm going to have to make do with Autumn.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Ah, got you. Autumn will be lovely too! best of luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest michael29 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Day 55 today!! still waiting to hear:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kseatonqld Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Oh no ... sorry to hear about that!!! We had exactly the same thing happen to us. We applied in April - took 60 working days for the rejection notice. Posted my appeal and his passport to Canberra office. According to the documentation available online - the ECM (Entry Clearance Manager) can reverse the decision if you've provided the correct documents - and they can do this at any time in the process. So, it shouldn't take a year. Our documents arrived at UK Border Agency on 28/6 and I have heard nothing yet from them yet ... but it all looks so cut and dried that I can't imagine it taking too long for them to sort out. So keep positive ... I'll post again on here when the visa comes through. When did you apply in april? So you have been waiting since the end of june? not looking hopefull for us. Thanks for your reply, i thought we were being persecuted by the BHC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 KSeaton - sorry to jump in but just in case incubus isn't around for a while - did you see his next post? Incubus got a call from BHC and it's all sorted now. Maybe it's worth writing a letter or two like incubus did? Because the decision can be overturned in canberra, rather than London - much faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Day 55 today!! still waiting to hear:( ...and I was getting all excited for you when I saw you'd posted! Chin up...Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you... Personally I think I'm going to be dreadful company in another few weeks time - at least being at work at the moment stops me thinking about it most of the time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 When did you apply in april? So you have been waiting since the end of june? not looking hopefull for us. Thanks for your reply, i thought we were being persecuted by the BHC. This is the whole brief history... My email from UKBA arrived on 29/4/2010. They made their decision (refusal) on 16/7/2010 but didn't send an email out until 23/7/2010. The email they sent out didn't say it had been refused - just that the visa had been "processed". I received my documents back on 28/7 and appeal arrived with them 29/7. I sent a whole lot of emails to them and I also sent a fax off to them on Monday 2/8/2010 detailing compelling reasons why my application appeal needed to be looked at quickly. I also posted the fax so they had a hard copy. The case was reviewed by the Entry Clearance Manager and the HC on Thursday 4/8 and the HC rang me yesterday 5/8. I received my approved visa and all documents back this morning. You're not being persecuted - it's fairly common to forget the passport I think. However - it's also the EASIEST thing to challenge on and an Entry Clearance Manager can very quickly reverse a decision if the immigration document was the sole issue for refusal. But you have to deal with the local post of the UK Border agency and put together a good letter as to why it needs to be dealt with AND how easy this is to clear up. Good Luck - it's worth it in the end... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KG1978 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Ha necole, tell me about it! You can tell I'm not working right now, hence the constant posting. But I'm doing three weeks' work from Monday (I freelance) so hopefully I'll calm down a bit when i have other things to focus on! I had my hopes up for michael29 too - esp because there seems to be a trend of sending lots of approval emails on a Friday. Well, the day isn't out yet. Good luck everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kseatonqld Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 This is the whole brief history... My email from UKBA arrived on 29/4/2010. They made their decision (refusal) on 16/7/2010 but didn't send an email out until 23/7/2010. The email they sent out didn't say it had been refused - just that the visa had been "processed". I received my documents back on 28/7 and appeal arrived with them 29/7. I sent a whole lot of emails to them and I also sent a fax off to them on Monday 2/8/2010 detailing compelling reasons why my application appeal needed to be looked at quickly. I also posted the fax so they had a hard copy. The case was reviewed by the Entry Clearance Manager and the HC on Thursday 4/8 and the HC rang me yesterday 5/8. I received my approved visa and all documents back this morning. You're not being persecuted - it's fairly common to forget the passport I think. However - it's also the EASIEST thing to challenge on and an Entry Clearance Manager can very quickly reverse a decision if the immigration document was the sole issue for refusal. But you have to deal with the local post of the UK Border agency and put together a good letter as to why it needs to be dealt with AND how easy this is to clear up. Good Luck - it's worth it in the end... Your such a god send - all of you. We sent our appeal letter and my husbands passport (a copy signed by notary republic) to the UK yesterday. We also put in a short cover letter saying the history of our application, etc. Did your refusal letter say that you were refused due to your partners passport not being provided? Ours also stated that he was not present and settled in the UK, so it was refused on both the fact they didn't see his paaport and he wasn't already in the UK. WE rang straight away (the $11 phone number to canberra) and they said he did not have to be in the UK, just he had to be travelling wiht us when we entered the country. We are worried now that they may refuse us because he is not in the UK already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Your such a god send - all of you. We sent our appeal letter and my husbands passport (a copy signed by notary republic) to the UK yesterday. We also put in a short cover letter saying the history of our application, etc. Did your refusal letter say that you were refused due to your partners passport not being provided? Ours also stated that he was not present and settled in the UK, so it was refused on both the fact they didn't see his paaport and he wasn't already in the UK. WE rang straight away (the $11 phone number to canberra) and they said he did not have to be in the UK, just he had to be travelling wiht us when we entered the country. We are worried now that they may refuse us because he is not in the UK already! the advice you had was correct - he doesn't have to be present and settled - you just have to be with him when you go through immigration. They wont refuse you on that - they new my partner has been living in Australia for 6 years and we are staying with friends in UK until we find a place and Jobs. My refusal letter said that the decision was based on not being able to verify the immigration status of my partner (that was the only reason given) ... which only required that verification. But, if you're applying for the same visa and you're both travelling together I can't see how they could refuse you on those grounds. Sending the documentation to the UK may delay things somewhat because it has to arrive there and then go through the tribunal process before being overturned. But I'm hoping by the UK you meant the UK Border agency ... please say that you did that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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