₦airaland Forum

Came back to encourage someone. First time applying for Schengen and to France and I got one month approved. I packaged my application myself based on verified information I got from here and online. I submitted on 4th July and got a collection email yesterday. Thank you to everyone sharing accurate information. Please always cross check all information independently. I wish everyone applying the best.

Taal17:
Yes they do allow that, I had a similar situation. I took my passport travelled brought it back with the white slop and then submitted at DHL then.

Thank you for confirming this. I was going to take it back myself, so you have to drop it with DHL? How long did it take before you took it back and how long did it take before you got it back from the embassy?

Debbieeeeeee:
Congratulations and thank you very much for the update, I’m glad others can learn from this and this should guide advices given out to others also.

You are welcome, Debbie and thank you. Yes, sometimes you just have to try things out for yourself.

Efetobore1980:
Hello Talia.


YOU
So I went to Canada and came back. I want to know what documents to take along apart from the DS 160 confirmation page , appointment confirmation letter, visa payment receipt and passport photograph.

Despite the fact that consular officers rarely check documents nowadays i will still recommed you equip yourself in order to avoid 221g. The next relevant documents to take along is your POF (bank statement) and evidence of where to stay. ** You do not need letter of introduction from work, and the better way to proof home ties is in your visa application...ds-160 and verbally with the consular.


YOU
I am also travelling next week. Can I ask them if I can hold on to my passport cause I don’t think they’d return it to me in time for the next trip.

You cannot book down or reserve a U.S. approved visa to be issue to you in a future date. If you hold on to your passport after the visa interview where will the consulate stamp your visa ? Or you mean after your arrival you will just dhl your passport to the embassy so that they can issue your visa based on the last successful interview 😎

** I would rather you reschedule your current appointment till after your arrival or you wait for your visa and postpone your travel . 👍

Good morning. I’m back to give an update. I got my US visa approval today. My first time. I’m grateful to God and to all the contributors here. I also told the visa officer about my travel this Sunday and told her I’d like to keep my passport. She gave me a white slip with an address to take it to their office after I return for the visa itself. I thought it will be helpful to give that update for those who may be in my situation. I know @efetobore said it may be unlikely for this to be allowed, but it is allowed. I wish everyone success with their applications.

Efetobore1980:
Hello Talia.


YOU
So I went to Canada and came back. I want to know what documents to take along apart from the DS 160 confirmation page , appointment confirmation letter, visa payment receipt and passport photograph.

Despite the fact that consular officers rarely check documents nowadays i will still recommed you equip yourself in order to avoid 221g. The next relevant documents to take along is your POF (bank statement) and evidence of where to stay. ** You do not need letter of introduction from work, and the better way to proof home ties is in your visa application...ds-160 and verbally with the consular.


YOU
I am also travelling next week. Can I ask them if I can hold on to my passport cause I don’t think they’d return it to me in time for the next trip.

You cannot book down or reserve a U.S. approved visa to be issue to you in a future date. If you hold on to your passport after the visa interview where will the consulate stamp your visa ? Or you mean after your arrival you will just dhl your passport to the embassy so that they can issue your visa based on the last successful interview 😎

** I would rather you reschedule your current appointment till after your arrival or you wait for your visa and postpone your travel . 👍

Thank you for your responses, Efetobore. I will be staying with my friend, she has given me a letter of invitation which I will take along.

I was hoping I could take the passport back after my trip. It’s only a week. And it’s a trip I can’t postpone. Also worried about changing dates cause it took me almost a year to get this date. Do you have an idea how long it takes to get the passport back?

Good morning. I am new here and need some information, please. I have a visiting visa interview next week for the US. I’m going to see my friend who lives there for two weeks. I applied since last year when I was going to Canada so I could take that opportunity to visit her in America but the earliest interview date I got was for this year. So I went to Canada and came back. I want to know what documents to take along apart from the DS 160 confirmation page , appointment confirmation letter, visa payment receipt and passport photograph. Do I need to take my bank statement , letter of introduction from work and evidence of family ties along? I am the only one travelling, my husband and kids will be in Lagos.

I am also travelling next week. Can I ask them if I can hold on to my passport cause I don’t think they’d return it to me in time for the next trip.

Thank you in advance for your kind responses.

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

Oh okay, thank you.

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!

Thank you Cashmadam. The 27m is his turnover. We had interpreted income as money he makes not profit. I guess we learn every day. Yes, the address issue is flimsy. He will start paying himself every month and move it to his personal account- so it’s clean and his “income” is clear and traceable. Thank you for your responses.

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.

Yes, those amounts were small, but I thought sponsorship of spouses was a thing. Now I know better. He will fund the next one himself. Thank you.

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..

Yes, it’s a new one cause I’ve used an old address for previous visas without any issues. We will try Schengen and US next year after sorting out all the highlighted issues. Thank you.

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

[quote author=Cashmadam post=135357718]Thank you, Cashmadam. I will try. Please how can we get the passport back?

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 🙂

saint4belles:
The koko is they hardly want husband and wife or family into the country on visitors visa ,cos most are doing that and eventually seeking asylum ... Its either Husband goes alone or wife travel alone with the kids ,cos even if you have huge funds from salary/work , they would still complain of home ties .

I actually thought of this, because some parts of the refusal don’t really make sense. He will go alone next time and come back. We don’t have any plans to japa. Nigeria must work. 😀We just want to see the world and come back. Thank you again.

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.
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.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your responses. I understand (1) very well. We will fix this. He should probably save up more. I had thought my bank statements would be able to show we had enough funds. Please how much is a minimum should he have to reapply? He had 1.5m in his mutual funds. On (2) my kids visas have expired since January. I didn’t want to stress myself with too many applications, that’s why I didn’t bother with reapplying for them- also wanted to use them to prove home ties. (3) I agree with you totally. He probably needs to travel alone for at least two trips self - funded. We will work on this.
(4) Thank you for your empathy. We are both pained. But we will work on fixing it and try again. We may have to go somewhere else for this birthday while I go to the UK on my own.🥹 Once again, I appreciate your response.
(5)Yes, I agree. In the past, I have used my bank statements with old addresses without issues for visa applications, but I saw recently that somebody was refused because of that recently. I guess they are now stricter. We will go back and fix it all.

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 ?

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.


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.

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.

onile1975:
@Tailadivaaaa

Did you state in ur visa application that you will be traveling with ur husband? because they usually use this question to refused visa if you have answer NO in your application

Yes, I did in the letter of support and he stated it in his too. I got my 2 year visa last year. I didn’t just apply.

CornOak:
Depends on the bank, as well as the customer's relationship with their account officer.

Okay then. Thank you.

saint4belles:
banks hardly call customers to confirm if they drop statement for sponsor or not ,i guess this is a new development.

I thought it was weird too. I believe it’s a new one.

giselle237:
It would be weird if you didn’t provide your documentation for his application and out of the blues, home office goes to your bank— you and him provided the information so they are checking what was provided to his application. Standard procedure.

Okay then. I guess it’s a new one. Thank you for your response!

Good afternoon all. I am finding this trend very useful. A big thank you to all the contributors. I am supporting my husband for a visiting visa application and I provided my bank statements. We intend to travel together. I already have my visa. I got a call from the bank today saying they want to confirm if I provided the statements in support of his application as they have to confirm to the visa office. I thought it was a bit weird as I wasn’t aware this was a thing . That was all she asked and I answered in the affirmative. I just want to know if this is normal procedure as I haven’t heard about it before. Thank you.

Airpod:
Pls what are the documents you took along to DHL for passport submission

I collected from VFS office in Lagos and I took a copy of my passport bio data page with the tracking number on it.

Karmora:
Please how much did you pay for pickup

Hello, I went to pick up myself today. I didn’t pay any money. It was faster than I expected. I submitted on Thursday and it was ready for pick up yesterday.

I submitted in March. Grateful that it’s all over now.

Thank you to everyone who responded to my inquiries. Wish everyone favourable responses.

Uwosom:
Nothing to worry about.

I got the same notification on the day I got the email from vfs that my passport was ready for pick up. I have my stamped passport with me now.

Oh great! Thank you so much for responding.

naivasha:
Sorry about that.

From the time you submitted your passport to the time you got the collection notification, how long did it take please?

Oh okay. I submitted last Thursday and i got the notification to come and pick up my passport today.

naivasha:
So how did it take from when you submitted?

I don’t understand the question. Please clarify.

Opeyemi007:
Nothing to be worried about.

Oh okay. Did you have the same experience? Please let me know. Thanks.

Tailadivaaaa:
Good afternoon All,

I’m new here and I’ve found the responses very useful. I submitted my passport physically with VFS Lagos for stamping for a Canadian visiting visa. I didn’t get any confirmation via email that it has been received by VFS, but I’ve been tracking it via the VFS website and it says it has been forwarded for processing at the Canadian visa office.

Please does anyone know how long it could possibly take for the stamping and return of the passport so I can manage my expectations. And is there anyway to officially expedite the process?

Thank you in advance as I await your kind responses.

Hello gurus , I just checked the passport tracker on VFS today and it says my passport is ready for collection. Also today, I got a notification from Ircc on the portal saying “eligibility has been reviewed. Please see the final decision below” The final decision is still showing application was approved. I had thought eligibility will come before final decision, but it has come after. I’m a bit worried. Has anybody had this experience before? I will appreciate your responses. Thanks a lot.

Jeboy:
Hello, is your visit Tourist, Conference or Visit to someone in Canada?

It’s visit to family- my brother.

Jeboy:
Guy calm down now you have waited for over 6 months patiently, do you want to fly the next day lolz....u have it now so just be patient, Canadian visa stamp will be embossed on your international passport, i know you just cant wait to confirm that reality and joyfulmoments. Congrats.

LOL! Mehn, the wait was something. Can’t wait for the entire process to be over. Thank you. Congratulations in advance to you too!

Uwosom:
I submitted via DHL on Tuesday and it was ready for pickup on Friday.

Wow! I pray I get mine this early too. Thank you for your response. 🙏

Debbieeeeeee:
It doesn't take long for your passport to return, just keep tracking it. Maximum one week.

Thank you. This is comforting. I will keep tracking.