Reasons for UK Visa Refusals

The reasons for UK visa refusals depend, to some extent, on the visa you are applying for. However, some common reasons for visa refusal apply to most Business Visas, Work Visas, Family Visas and Visit Visas.

In this article, our UK Immigration Lawyers look at the common reasons for UK visa refusal and how to avoid them.

Immigration Lawyers in London for visa refusals

For expert visa advice and representation from Immigration Lawyers you can trust.

Call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.

Four common reasons for UK visa refusals

Many visa applicants approach our UK Immigration Lawyers for advice after their visa application has been refused. We are always happy to give a second opinion on visa options and advise on a fresh visa application or an appeal.

Four common reasons for visa rejections are:

1. Not sending the correct documents in support of your visa application
2. Putting the wrong information on your application
3. Not demonstrating how you meet the eligibility criteria for the requested visa
4. Your immigration record

Not sending the correct documents in support of your visa application

Many visa applicants or non-specialist solicitors think that volume is everything and that the more paperwork you send to the Home Office the more likely you will get your visa. It doesn’t work that way.

You need an expert Visa Lawyer who:

1. Understands the eligibility criteria for the visa you are applying for
2. Has thorough knowledge of the latest immigration rules and Home Office guidance applicable to your visa application
3. Can identify the best documents to clearly demonstrate you meet the eligibility criteria

Your solicitor needs to have expertise in the immigration rules and guidance as without that they can't explain exactly which documents could mean the difference between visa success and visa rejection.

Putting the wrong information on your application

When you are submitting a visa application you can't afford to make mistakes. For example, putting the wrong date of birth or other basic error.

Sometimes the ‘wrong information’ involves a discrepancy between the information in your application and the supporting paperwork accompanying your application. You cannot expect a Home Office official to try and work out whether the application or the paperwork is correct.  Nor can you expect a Home Office caseworker to make allowances because you have not used an Immigration Solicitor to make your visa application or let your application go through because you used a lawyer who was assisting on their first visa application and didn’t pay attention to detail.

Not demonstrating how you meet the eligibility criteria for the requested visa

Every visa has its own immigration rules and eligibility criteria and it's vital to ensure that your application addresses the relevant eligibility criteria. That’s the case even though you may think that it's self-evident. For example, you know:

1. That you are married when you apply for your Spouse Visa as you would not apply unless you were. However, you still need to send your marriage certificate with your application as the Home Office requires proof. The certificate must be officially transcribed if it isn’t in English
2. You meet the Unmarried Partner Visa minimum income requirement and accommodation requirement because your UK-based partner is an NHS hospital consultant. You still need to provide evidence of your partner’s salary in the form of salary slips and accommodation evidence
3. You intend to leave the UK at the end of your Visit Visa. However, if you don’t show strong ties to your home country it will not be self-evident to the Home Office official tasked with reviewing your Visit Visa application that you don’t plan to overstay
4. You meet the English language requirement when applying for a Skilled Worker Visa. It may be obvious that no UK employer would employ any Skilled Worker Visa applicant in your line of work unless they could speak English. However, all Skilled Worker Visa applicants either need to sit an English language test and prove they have passed it or show they are exempt from sitting the test based on their nationality or qualifications

Your immigration record

The Home Office will look at your immigration history when deciding whether to grant your visa application. London Immigration Solicitors will carefully consider your immigration record and advise you if you are at risk of visa refusal based on Part 9 of the immigration rules. These are referred to as ‘the general grounds for refusal.’

Reviewing your immigration record involves looking at:

• Any earlier UK visa applications
• Any visa applications to countries other than the UK
• Any allegations and findings of deception in previous immigration applications
• Any allegations that you breached a condition of your visa, such as working beyond permitted hours on a Student Visa
• Any allegations that you overstayed after entry on a visa, such as a failure to apply for a visa extension
• Prior entry without entry clearance
• Series of failed prior applications

Other’s immigration record

A refusal may not be down to your immigration record but that of your sponsoring spouse, unmarried partner or employer. For example:

• The Home Office has reasonable grounds to believe you may not be in a genuine relationship because of your spouse’s prior history of marrying and divorcing two spouses who entered the UK on Spouse Visas
• The Home Office thinks there was deception on the part of your unmarried partner because of the documents supplied to prove they meet the Unmarried Partner Visa minimum income requirement. For example, one set of business accounts that show a healthy profit to qualify you for the Unmarried Partner Visa but the accounts and figures for tax filing with HMRC for the same period are lower
• A sponsoring employer is being investigated by the Home Office for licence compliance and therefore the Home Office official does not believe that you have been offered genuine employment

What are my options if my visa application is refused?

There are three potential options if your visa application is refused:

1. Make a new application
2. Appeal the decision
3. Apply for a judicial review

If you want to pursue an appeal or judicial review you need to speak to a Visa Appeal Lawyer ASAP. There are time limits to appeal or to start judicial review proceedings. There may also be time constraints with a fresh application. For example, a sponsoring employer won't hold open a job indefinitely while you decide whether to apply for another Skilled Worker Visa or your partner in an Unmarried Partner Visa application may be at risk of not meeting the minimum income requirement if their business won't generate the same level of income next year or if the government decides to increase the minimum income requirement from £29,000 for Spouse Visa and Family Visa applicants.

Applying for a new visa

The cheapest and quickest route to visa approval is often submitting a new application but it is essential that your Immigration Solicitors read the letter you or your previous solicitors were sent by the Home Office outlining the reasons for the visa refusal. That way our Visa Lawyers can:

• Find out if the visa refusal was made on mandatory or discretionary grounds
• Check the validity of the refusal
• Work out if you stand a better chance of successfully obtaining a different type of visa
• Write a statement addressing the area of Home Office concern or prepare a statement to resolve any discrepancies apparent in your first application or to try and ensure that the Home Office caseworker exercises their discretion in your favour
• Submit your fresh application with the correct supporting documents 

When you have received bad news about a visa application all isn’t necessarily lost. Legal 500 recommended OTS Solicitors have a great track record of securing visas when others have not been able to do so. 

For expert visa advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.

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