₦airaland Forum

oladapojoe:
Good day everyone,

I’m kindly seeking advice on how to go about applying for a UK visa for my sister’s daughter, who is 16 years old. She currently lives with my mother in Nigeria.

My wife and I live in the UK on a sponsorship visa, and we have two young children — a 7-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. My mother visited us last year in October and stayed for five months before returning to Nigeria earlier this year. - I hope those 5 months won't haunt her in future..

We’re now hoping to bring my niece over to live with us temporarily to help care for the children and support the family. She is currently writing her WAEC exams this month, which means she is finishing high school and will be free afterwards. - As what? A Nanny or house help? I hope you know that is illegal as she is a minor and she will be working illegally.

I’m unsure of the best way to approach her visa application. Can I apply for her to visit the UK along with my mother, stating that they are both coming for a short visit? Since my mother has previously been granted a visa and complied with all conditions, I’m hoping that might improve my niece’s chances. - I don't think it will improve your niece's chances

My main concern is her age — being just 16, I’m worried the visa might be refused, and I want to avoid a refusal on her record. When my mother applied previously, my wife and I provided an invitation letter, but she used her own bank statement to show proof of funds, which was sufficient. - Good you are worried. Abort mission.

Also, my niece and my mother share the same surname. Would it help the application if my mother presents her as her daughter rather than granddaughter? - You don't need to lie. Say the truth 100%

Any advice, suggestions, or insights from those with experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Tailadivaaaa:
Good afternoon. Please I need your help and advice. I posted earlier about sponsoring my husband for a trip to the UK. I already have a 2 year UK visiting visa and I have a 7 year Canadian visiting visa. I added all the visas to his application including previous visas to the UK. I provided my bank statements and employment letters with all my allowances et al in support of his application. I have visited the UK thrice with no refusal. I’ve also been to Canada , the UAE and Ghana. I was really hoping for an approval but unfortunately his application was refused. We’ve been married for 13 years with 2 daughters. The kids are not going with us. They travelled with me to the UK last year August. My husband couldn’t go. Sorry about the refusal


I’m not very clear on the reasons they have given. He is self employed. Works as a software developer, he has his own company. He indicated his annual income as 27million and provided his bank statements, but the feedback is that the income and the statement does not correspond. Should he have provided a full year’s statement? The second point is the address- they said it’s a different address that is stated in the bank statement- that’s our former address and we had included an internet utility bill with our current address and explained that it’s an issue from the bank’s end in the letter of support. I have in the past applied with bank statements with the old address and explained. I also included my driver’s license with the current address. Unfortunately his driver’s license is being renewed so we couldn’t include it. Is the 27m actually his annual income or his company's annual turnover?

Please what can we do. Is it worth reapplying? Should we include a full year’s bank statement? We can resolve the address issue with the bank, but I want to carefully reapply because I don’t want a string of refusals for him. I turn 40 in September and I had hoped he will be able to travel with me. I’m not having a party, I just wanted to travel with him as he has never been to the UK before. We included all possible documents, our marriage certificate, children’s both certificates, family pictures, documents evidencing our landed property, his business registration documents, visas for me and the kids’ previous travels, my bank statements with over 20k dollars and 3m. I am a lawyer with a top law firm in lagos. Apologies for the long message. I’m just quite sad.

Tailadivaaaa:
Sorry, just to also mention that he included his corporate account and personal account. He had about 1.5m in his Stanbic mutual funds as savings. The corporate account had a little over 100k as he uses most of the moneys for business. His personal account statement was also included but with very minimal funds. His annual revenue from his business is about 25m to 27m , but most of these goes towards clients cost and living expenses which reflect in the statements. Should we get a letter from his account officer to corroborate this turnover cause that appears to be the main issue ?

giselle237:
@tailadivaaaa
You have the option to submit a Personal Appeal Petition (PAP) or an official complaint if you believe there has been an error or unfair treatment. These days it looks like there are more refusals anyway for first timers.
From my perspective, I personally don’t see your husband securing a UK visa without addressing these issues:

1. Given that your husband claims an annual income of 27 million, it would be reasonable to expect that he can fund his trip independently. Currently, he has only submitted bank statements and CAC documents to support his business, which may not be sufficient. It would be helpful to provide additional documentation such as tax certificates, invoices, MOUs, or other official documents that demonstrate the legitimacy and activity of his business. This could help establish that his self-employment status is genuine rather than a strategy to facilitate the visa application. The ECO may have felt that the current documents didn’t fully substantiate his claims about his income and business activities. And yes a 1 year bank statement could further prove his true financial standing.
Why did you submit low bank statements also? Is it because you were sponsoring? Sadly with or without sponsor it is the applicant’s situation that matters.

2. Allow the UK visas for your children to expire before he reapplies. When you do, emphasize that your children will remain in Nigeria during the trip, which shows their strong ties to Nigeria. These children can serve as a solid indication of your family’s roots and commitments in Nigeria, which can strengthen the case that your husband will return after his visit as you and him cannot abandon your young children to go and live illegally in the UK.

3. Your husband needs to establish his own travel history. Since he currently has no significant economic ties to Nigeria—possibly because his financial profile may have been inflated for the purpose of this visa application—it's important to show that he has traveled elsewhere before, and that he has not overstayed visas in other countries. Demonstrating a consistent travel record and proof that he can sponsor other journeys without overstaying can help build trust that he will adhere to the terms of his visa this time as well.
Your travel and immigration history can not be given to him. I concur. He can try US and Schengen Visa. Yes, US visa is tough to get but at least they don't scrutinize very single document you have. So, it's worth trying..
4. Sorry about the refusal.

5. In the UK they take addresses on bank statements very seriously as a bank statement is also used here as one of the proof of addresses. In the past when I was applying for visit visas these were never picked upon but it looks like things have changed. A few days ago another refusal for different address on bank statements was on this thread. Looks like it is a new thing.

Ifelajulo:
Hello people, I just applied for Visitors Visa for my mother,the application is still with HMRC. The problem is that in the application I wrote that she will spend one month in UK, My questions:

1. is it possible for her to spend more than one month in UK? Yes
2. Is there anything I can do right now to extend the one month I wrote on the application? No

Thanks for your opinion.

Tailadivaaaa:
Please how do we get back a passport after a refusal note? Do we wait for another email from VFS on when we can pick up? Thank you in advance.

P.S A refusal is so painful though. My husband is “chesting” it but I can see he is pained. Even I am. Any tips to get over it, please 🙂

tyrant25:
Wow Congratulations! Did you go through the PAP route? Or it was just a letter you sent to their complaint email?

dende3:
Very Possible,i was refused and after a month i reapplied and got my visa,ensure you treat the reason for refusal well ,dm me if you need assistance

davodyguy:
Bro, adjust the way you quote abeg

These people would flag your account if you receive any large deposit

Present investment certificate that is still to mature than for it to mature and they see large deposit. They will say you want to outsmart them,

Dont try it

Cashmadam:
It hurts.. I know. Just pamper him and help him strategize to reapply.

Cashmadam:
Looks like a new thing because I have used a statement with an old address for both UK and Schengen visa with no issues. I suggest everyone takes note of this..

Cashmadam:
Assuming the corporate account was meant to add any value, N100k is just too insignificant to add any real value. The 1.5m in Stanbic is also not adequate. Finally, with almost no money in his personal account, the denial was bound to happen.

As I mentioned earlier, you husband is expected to have his own money for this trip. That was the main issue.

Cashmadam:
The address issue was just the visa officer looking for another reason to deny him the visa. It should not be an issue honestly. Your husband needs to sponsor himself next time. He is an adult and expected to have his own money. As an entrepreneur, there will be more scrutiny. He needs to pay himself a monthly salary, save over a few months (while keeping his account clean) and then ensure he does not mix up turnover with profit (I'm referring to his company). Good luck!

lawrins8:
Good morning house. Please what does Personal Appeal Petition means and how does one go about that. Thank you.

CornOak:
The correct term is PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL [PAP] and not Personal Appeal Petition

"A Pre-Action Protocol Letter is a legal letter written to the Home Office before court proceedings to try and resolve any matters first. The Pre-Action Protocol Letter contains the key matters that would be raised in legal proceedings. It sets out all the legal grounds and shows how the action was unlawful."

Cashmadam:
He will receive a collection email and then you can pick up

Cashmadam:
He will receive a collection email and then you can pick up

Abbebbay:
@cash.m,Please I need your advice here ,I and my wife did our biometrics on the 15 of April and up to now we haven't gotten any mail ,I tried doing a paid call and the line keep engaging and cuts off also tried doing paid mail and it's not accepting my debit card to go..
Can I go to the VFS office and ask about it or should I still wait ..

Please help..

CornOak:
Just got a VFS collection email for a biometrics done on April 24. You should get a decision update before Friday.

Good luck.

Negroconer:
Okay bro I have done the TB again which would be liquidated by August while I continue with the 1.2m salary
What's your advice on this

Abbebbay:
@cashmadam,Please I need your advice here ,I and my wife did our biometrics on the 15 of April and up to now we haven't gotten any mail ,I tried doing a paid call and the line keep engaging and cuts off also tried doing paid mail and it's not accepting my debit card to go..
Can I go to the VFS office and ask about it or should I still wait ..

Please help..

davodyguy:
When do you want to apply?

Abbebbay:
@cashmadam,Please I need your advice here ,I and my wife did our biometrics on the 15 of April and up to now we haven't gotten any mail ,I tried doing a paid call and the line keep engaging and cuts off also tried doing paid mail and it's not accepting my debit card to go..
Can I go to the VFS office and ask about it or should I still wait ..

Please help..

Cashmadam:
Get ready for more scrutiny.

With 120M as profit, I expect the CEO to earn more than N1M monthly...

600M is your turnover so get ready to provide documents to support that claim.

Also, you are expected to pay tax so I don't know how you want to manage that...

At this rate, you should start building your travel history with a Schengen visa. Slightly easier than UK visa.

You can even try US as they don't even ask for or look at any document you present. You might just get the visa. US visa is a good start. If not Schengen.

UK will scrutinize very single document and every single claim you make. From what you have stated, I'm not sure you should apply for a UK visa now.

Start paying yourself like 2.5 to 3M monthly. Keep your monthly expenses at a minimum. Build your account over 6 months and get your tax stuff sorted.

Then, you can apply maybe in Q4 or earlier next year. If you can, travel this year. It will help.

Good luck!

davodyguy:
Exactly 30 days

Abbebbay:
@davoudguy,Please I don't t understand, you just wrote Exactly 30 days..

Negroconer:
When do you think I can
I just did another TB again