₦airaland Forum

@ Betty

No one knows exactly why you were refused because it is not clear from your explanation. Your husband is right about the UK tax yr ending 5th April each year. You said you submitted Company bank statement up to April 2012 only. This is not enough. I understand you also sent his personal bank statements and i presume these covered the period between April 2012 to the date you made your application. If this is the case, the ECO has the right to ask questions regarding payslip. Perhaps your husband paid himself thru the Company accounts. You need to provide a clear picture of this case for people to help you properly. If your husband owns the business, he will have certificate of Incorporation. The certificate will show his name as the director, date of incorporation and also the company number. The company will also be listed on http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ with his name as director. In addition to his up to date company bank statements, he needs to provide evidence of turnover within the last 12 months + employer/sales tax record from HMRC. From this two, he or his accountant can work out his net profit within the last 12 months. His net profit + tax paid (for sales only) should be equal to/above the 18,600 threshold. Note: tax paid on behalf of his employee (if he has any) does not count because these are employee tax. I hope this makes sense.

@ Betty

Mirabeelz is absolutely right about additional evidence. The only time a post dated evidence is accepted is if you provided one previously but it was in the wrong format e.g., if you provided letter from employer but it did not contain the necessary information required by ECO to make decision. In this case, you are allowed to get another letter from the same employer. As for post-dated bank statements, there is a very slim chance of ECO looking at them. It all depends on how you present your case.
You said you have stopped working and so unable to provide payslips for re-application. I suggest you appeal the refusal but make sure you address all the points mentioned within the refusal and back them up with evidence.
The best way to appeal is by first writing a personal statement. within this statement, you will tackle the refusal points in bullet points and always refer to the evidence documents enclosed.
Once you are done with the appeal, it takes 4 - 6 weeks before AIT sends it off for ECM review, although it could take longer. BUT there is a way around this time frame. You cannot do anything until AIT confirms your payment. As soon as the payment leaves your account, you need to write (e-mail) them and request that your bundle be sent off for review. In this e-mail, you must state your dissatisfaction with the level of service and make sure you mention "that this is a paid service". it takes around 7 - 10 days to get a response from them and it takes around 3 - 5 days for them to update their system after payment has left your account. By the time they read this email, payment must have shown on their system so they will place an e-mail to the department in charge of sending your document off for ECM review. Make the e-mail very strong.
I will give u further information on how to shorten the ECM review time frame. It is stressful but worth it.

@ Lamosy

Your faith, patience and most of all GOOD HEART did the Job... I am rejoicing for you dear. Do not stop the good work when you get here... I am sure more people on the forum will benefit from your experience and advise... Remain blessed

@ Blower46

Thats right. Application timeline should be quicker now.

Let me just clarify for those of you who do not know yet. Settlement Visas are not dealt with in Nigeria. They are processed in Sheffield UK. Usually after application in Nigeria, the application bundle gets sent off to Sheffield UK where a decision is made. The new change is just another way of pushing cost to applicants and yet the Home Office are not willing to reduce the visa application fees.

Just for you to confirm what I am saying (i.e for settlement visa applicants ONLY), have a look at any correspondence from the Home Office e.g., those of you waiting for appeal decision - have a look at the "Notice of Refusal". The reference there will say "SHEFO/nnn".

@Lamosy - I admire your faith. Wish I had seen this thread earlier I would have asked you to write AIT and copy the sheffield Office since. It is not too late now though. Just complain about your dissatisfaction with their service. Again to correct you on the 19 week wait for ECM review, it starts from the date on your appeal acknowledgement letter. Now this does not mean it cannot be decided earlier because I have seen lots of settlement cases decided (overturned by ECM) within 3 months of appeal. I strongly advise you write AIT as son as you can to lodge a formal complaint (by fax) and copy the sheffield office (the visa post dealing with your application). I am almost certain a decision has since been made on your case. write real quick my dear. I hope you get the good news you deserve.

There is also on-going inquiries with regards to the new settlement visa rules especially the financial requirements (£18,600). It also deals with other issues like the tick box approach used by ECOs and the need for adequate training. see the following sites:

http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/news/2012/parliamentary-inquiry-new-family-migration-rules-call-evidence

http://www.appgmigration.org.uk/sites/default/files/APPG_Migration_inquiry_outline-Nov-2012.pdf

hopefully, this will result in some favorable changes for family members soon.

word of advise... only the police force has direct right to those info. any other govt agency applies through the force. HO Visa section doesn't even have the right to request for your tax records directly. while they have your consent to request this, they can only apply through the force and this is only in cases where they suspect fraud. enough said, I worked in the ......... office last year through an agency. the info i have just given u is FACT. only the force has direct right to those info. other govt office needs court approval or go through the force.

justwise: As this age of technology getting ones CRB will not take ages, the police with handheld device on the street get that within minutes

police handheld searches targeted register depending on the information they want e.g., absconders register, young offenders, wanted etc. And they do so directly because they have the right to. home office (visa section) has to apply for such information and CRB is a comprehensive check. i case my rest.

For those of you that bought this 8 day decision story... This is just to let you know how impossible it is. Before a settlement visa is passed to a case worker, some verifications are done. Now, what to verify depends on the application and the documents provided but the one verification that is inevitable is the CRIMINAL RECORD CHECK on the sponsor. This is called CRB in the UK and it takes at least 2 weeks before they get a response. If you remember in the application, towards the end where they asked questions regarding criminal records, terror group etc... this check certifies whether information provided there is true or not and UK does not joke with this. This is why non-settlement is quicker because verification is only initiated if there are suspicions on documents provided and all verifications are local based (i.e., nigeria). Now tell me how someone got a decission for non-settlement within 8 days do not be fooled guys... I will not tell u where i work but i guess u can figure that out.