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Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Use this section for any queries concerning the EU Settlement Scheme, for applicants holding pre-settled and settled status.

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LankyFrenchman
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Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:48 pm
France

Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by LankyFrenchman » Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:14 pm

Hi everyone,

First of all, thanks a lot for all the help we got by just lurking on this great forum!

My Russian wife and I, French citizen living in the UK, have applied for an EEA Family Permit, booked a biometrics appointment on the 6th of September in Moscow (can I name the centre?), got an e-mail saying the passport was ready for collection on the 24th. She picked it up and there was no EEA family permit in there. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't any stamp saying it was declined, nor was there any decision letter explaining what went wrong. Someone at the visa application centre checked on the computer and said it was declined. We e-mailed UKVI support on the 24th and they told us on the 25th they didn't know if it was accepted or declined. We e-mailed them several more times (26th, 26th again and 14/10) and they always ask us to wait 15 working days.

Has anyone ever had this issue of no visa and no decision letter?

LankyFrenchman
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:48 pm
France

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by LankyFrenchman » Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:21 pm

Here are the excerpts from the e-mails we received:

24/09 from the visa application centre : "[The centre] is pleased to inform you that your visa application process is almost over and that your passport will soon be ready to be returned to you."
24/09 from the visa application centre: "Your passport and supporting documentation are now ready for collection at the [centre]. You can collect your documents in person or by a representative."
25/09 from UKVI support: "With regards to your enquiry, please can you confirm whether you have received a decision letter stating the issues why you have been declined. If you have not received a letter which confirms that your visa has been refused then this could be the fact that your visa was not sent out to you. In this case we can escalate the case further and request for a decision letter which will confirm whether your visa was refused or accepted. At the moment we do not have clear confirmation of the decision. Can you please confirm."
We did not receive a letter saying the visa was refused, so we told them.
26/09 from UKVI support "Thank you for the information you have provided.
We escalated your case to the relevant department on (26.09.2019) You should be contacted regarding your decision letter within 15 working days from the date of escalation.
Your patience is highly appreciated."
After we replied to this e-mail explaining the urgency we got this reply signed by a different name: "Thank you for contacting UK Visas and Immigration International Contact Centre.
With regards to your query, we escalated your case to the relevant department dated on 26/09/2019 as an urgent matter. You should be contacted regarding your case maximum within 15 working days from the date of escalation.
Please await for the relevant department to contact you.
Your patience is highly appreciated."
14/10 After we sent another email we got this reply today: "Thank you for your e mail.
We have escalated your case to the relevant department on (26/09/2019). You should be contacted regarding your case within 15 working days from the date of escalation.
Your patience is highly appreciated.
Regards,
UK Visas and Immigration"

iwolga
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Posts: 503
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:34 am

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by iwolga » Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:00 pm

LankyFrenchman wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:14 pm
Hi everyone,

First of all, thanks a lot for all the help we got by just lurking on this great forum!

My Russian wife and I, French citizen living in the UK, have applied for an EEA Family Permit, booked a biometrics appointment on the 6th of September in Moscow (can I name the centre?), got an e-mail saying the passport was ready for collection on the 24th. She picked it up and there was no EEA family permit in there. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't any stamp saying it was declined, nor was there any decision letter explaining what went wrong. Someone at the visa application centre checked on the computer and said it was declined. We e-mailed UKVI support on the 24th and they told us on the 25th they didn't know if it was accepted or declined. We e-mailed them several more times (26th, 26th again and 14/10) and they always ask us to wait 15 working days.

Has anyone ever had this issue of no visa and no decision letter?
Hi, I'm Russian myself and I've been through the same process a couple of months ago.

First, I recommend addressing this q to a Russian-speaking forums as they seem to know specifics better. Secondly, yes, I did read about the cases like this on that very forum. And yes, those were mistakes ending both ways.

I'm sorry this is happening to you and your wife. I remember how stressed I was when I was waiting. Hope this is solved soon!

LankyFrenchman
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:48 pm
France

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by LankyFrenchman » Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:15 am

Okay thank you very much!

LankyFrenchman
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Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:48 pm
France

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by LankyFrenchman » Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:24 am

We got an e-mail from UKVI saying they sent the details to the escalation team on 18/10 (which was the 16th working day after our first complaint).

I have now found some citizens advice that we could ask our MP. Has anyone got any experience or heard of this strategy?

amaherchandani
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Mood:
India

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by amaherchandani » Mon Oct 28, 2019 12:27 pm

LankyFrenchman wrote:
Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:24 am
We got an e-mail from UKVI saying they sent the details to the escalation team on 18/10 (which was the 16th working day after our first complaint).

I have now found some citizens advice that we could ask our MP. Has anyone got any experience or heard of this strategy?
I have a quite a weird situation as well.

I have made the application inside the UK and I have received a refund letter. They are supposed to give the refund to the applicant after the application has been rejected.

I have received a refund cheque but no signs of my documents neither the decision letter. What is this supposed to mean?

LankyFrenchman
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:48 pm
France

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by LankyFrenchman » Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:23 pm

We finally got the decision letter today and it says the application was refused on the 18th of September because my wife needs to be on my insurance.

iwolga
Senior Member
Posts: 503
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:34 am

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by iwolga » Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:01 pm

LankyFrenchman wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:23 pm
We finally got the decision letter today and it says the application was refused on the 18th of September because my wife needs to be on my insurance.
Insurance is not a requirement for EEA FP ie there is no NHS surcharge for that.

I would suggest you post the refusal letter deleting all personal details.

LankyFrenchman
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Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:48 pm
France

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by LankyFrenchman » Wed Dec 11, 2019 1:10 pm

Thank you iwolga for the help. My lawyer also said that the decision was ridiculous and made no sense. She said that insurance company cannot cover someone who isn't living in the UK. Maybe the person taking the decision did not realise that my wife was not yet living in the UK.
I could appeal but that may take over 12 months, so I was advised to reapply with fresh documents and e-mails from 3 insurance companies saying they cannot insure my wife. Unfortunately insurance companies do not seem to have contact e-mails so I think I might use excerpts of T&Cs. The ones I got a call from said my wife needed to have been in the UK 180 days and registered with a GP. I did get a call from one insurance company saying they could provide insurance for my wife (contradicting the lawyer) so I am a bit confused. Any idea if I could get this insurance and it would help the application?
I was also advised to write a cover letter explaining that the previous application was refused based on the insurance issue, which is now addressed with whatever evidence I will give, and that all the rest was accepted but I am not sure how to write a cover letter yet. Are there any examples or templates out there?
iwolga wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:01 pm
I would suggest you post the refusal letter deleting all personal details.
Here is the decision text from our refusal:
The Decision

· You state that your husband XXXXXXXX is a French national. You have provided evidence that your sponsor holds a French passport.

· You state on your application form that you intend to join your EEA national sponsor in the United Kingdom and therefore you must satisfy that your sponsor is exercising his Treaty rights in the United Kingdom.

· As evidence of your sponsors Treaty rights you have submitted a letter from XXXXXX indicating that he is currently enrolled on [PhD studentship]. The letter further states that he receives a tax free stipend.

· As the income received for his PhD studentship is tax free it cannot be considered that your sponsor is exercising Treaty rights as a worker. Therefore your application has been considered in line with your sponsor exercising Treaty rights as a student.

· Regulation 4(1)(d)(ii) stipulates that as a student you must evidence that your sponsor holds comprehensive sickness insurance covering the duration of his studies. Whereas I note that an insurance policy in your sponsors name has been provided as evidence, regulation 4(3)(b) states that this cover must extend to relevant family members.

· As you are not listed on the insurance policy provided, It cannot be accepted that you are the family member of an EEA national exercising Treaty rights in the United Kingdom, in accordance with regulation 6, and with reference to regulation 4 of the EEA Immigration Regulations 2016.

I therefore refuse your EEA Family Permit application because I am not satisfied that you meet all of the requirements of regulation 12 (see ECGs EUN2.23) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016.

iwolga
Senior Member
Posts: 503
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:34 am

Re: Passport returned with no family permit, no decision letter, no refusal stamp

Post by iwolga » Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:03 pm

Hi,

Thanks for posting the refusal letter.

Though insurance is not required for someone who's working in UK, it is obligatory for EEA family if EEA person studies in UK. Sorry, I did not realise that you are studying when I was posting initial reply.

From page 17 of this doc https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 2_0EXT.pdf

I'm reading that this is a very standard reason for refusal, unfortunately. Maybe - instead of trying to prove that they are wrong - it's worth adding your wife to your policy. It may not initially work if she needs to see doctor in UK, but I assume HO will be satisfied with a policy with her name on it.

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