Wife refused entry an i don't know what to do.

[colin]

Hello, we have a massive problem and I don't know where to turn.

I met my wife in October of last year. She is Nigerian and was in the U.K
with a visitors visa. In January of this year her maximum six months stay was about to expire so she went back home.

She tried to return two weeks later but was refused entry because
1. She had no money on her to show she could support herself ( i was looking after her)

2. She had rented her own flat in the U.K which the immigration say indicates she is living as a resident and not a visitor so she is breaking a rule.

Her visa was cancelled and she was deported back home to Nigeria.

She began an appeal process but in the mean time I asked her to marry me because we knew we love each other and we thought this would solve our problem.

We cancelled the appeal for the above and , anyway we were married in Nigeria in April. I flew out for one week then returned home.

Since then she applied for her spouse visa (not sure exactly what type) and her interview was today. She was refused on the grounds that they think our marriage is a sham and we are doing it just to allow her U.K entry, which is not true. We gave them evidence they asked for such as wedding photo's, phone records (i have spent nearly 1500 pounds on phone calls since January), bank statements ( the immigration officer says i don't earn enough to support us both, although i earn 18000 pounds a year. The officer said our wedding is convenience because my parents didn't go to Nigeria for it (this would have killed them). Anyway i don't have a copy of the report yet with all the details.

My wife now has 28 days to appeal and i am certain that they are going to refuse anyway. I am thinking of getting a lawyer but this might be risky in Nigeria and I cannot really afford one anyway.

Can anybody please offer me some hope because this is a nightmare. I have seen my wife for 7 days in 7 months.

[John]

Colin, sorry to hear about the visa rejection.

Two questions :-

1. Can you give more detail about the evidence that was supplied in support of the application?
2. How on earth do you manage to spend £1500 on telephone calls in just 6 months?

My wife now has 28 days to appeal and i am certain that they are going to refuse anyway.

Simply .... why?

And given, as you say, "I have seen my wife for 7 days in 7 months.", in the absence of a visa for her to enter the UK at the moment, when do you plan to see your wife again?

As regards phonecalls, calls to Nigerian landlines available at 0.5p per minute ... those to Nigerian mobiles at 4.9p per minute ..... as per Niftylist.

[colin]

Hello John, thanks for responding so quickly.

Evidence supplied:
Marriage certificate
Photographs of marriage
Phone records
My current account banks statement
copies of my passport and birth certificate
Tenancy agreement
details of my employer including p60.


I do not have a copy of the refusal document yet but my wife has told me a few of the contentious parts.

The immigration official says she is suspicious because i had no people from the U.K attending the wedding with me.

That my tenancy agreement was only signed on the 15th of April, i was married on the 20th and that raised suspicion under paragraph 281.
The reason for this is I had been living at the address with my wife since November but the tenancy was in her name. I decided to swap the tenancy to me as they had problems with my wife renting a flat when only a visitor (see above).

The immigration also had a problem with my wifes previous visitor visa.
They said that when she applied for the visa in 2005 she stated that she was employed as a hairdresser, however later in interview she told how her business had gone bust in 2004 and that she was not employed when she applied for her las visitor visa. The reason she did this is because a friend advised her to put exactly the same details as she had on her first visitor visa. Personally I don't see what relevance this issue has now anyway.

Although nothing was said in the interview I fear my bank statement might do us harm. I have no savings and some debt (a bank loan).
Also the address on my statements does not match my new address because I haven't changed it yet. I have my mail delivered to my mums house as where i live the mail can go missing.


I managed to spend that much money on phone calls because I am stupid. I do use phone cards (mad4minutes. Are the ones you recommend better?) but sometimes when my cards run out I foolishly rang anyway. I have learnt a lesson and my bill has come down in recent months.

As for seeing my wife, i want to visit her asap but finances and time off work are restrictive. I will definately see her before the end of the year though.


My wife now has 28 days to appeal and i am certain that they are going to refuse anyway.


Simply .... why?

At the moment i just feel we are in a hopeless situation and they will use any excuse to refuse entry. My pessimism is only temporary though, I'll be fine in a few days.

John, do you think it is a good idea to pay for a solicitor? I need to decide soon.

Thanks for listening.

Colin.

[latansingh]

damn 1500 gbp on calls
check http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.co ... llchecker/

1500gbp 150,000 min that means 2500 hours thats like speaking for 16 days in a stretch

[chocolatelover]

Dont use mad for minutes is rubbish to Africa. Tell Uni Africa or Uni Tell...
Good luck dont lose hope