Standard Visitor Visa - Documents overlooked

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I have been refused visa with following remarks from ECO. My comments are highlighted in yellow.

I have refused your application for a visit visa because I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph(s) V4.2 – V4.6 of Appendix V of the Immigration Rules because:

 You have applied for a visitor visa to travel to the United Kingdom with your mother, for 29 days, to visit your brother. While I note the reason of your visit, and take into account the ability of your sponsor to maintain and accommodation you in the United Kingdom, this is only one aspect of the visitor rules and this sponsorship in isolation does not satisfy me that you meet the rest of the eligibility requirement of Appendix V of the Immigration Rules
Brother's employment letter, bank statement, apartment lease document and invitation letter was shared.

 In assessing your application it is your personal and financial circumstances which are of importance, and the onus is on you to qualify for entry clearance in your own right. It is your responsibility to satisfy me that your personal circumstances are such that you meet all of the requirements of the above paragraphs of the Immigration Rules, and will leave the United Kingdom on completion of the proposed visit and you have not done this.

 I note that your mother was issued entry clearance as a visitor, and she has indicated you will not be accompanying her to the United Kingdom. Whilst I accept that circumstances may change I must consider that the Entry Clearance officer had issued your mother’s visa taking into account that her immediate family members would be remaining in your country of residence. Your family’s travel plans have now changed just a short time after your mother UK visa was issued, and no explanation for this change of plans has been made in your application.
My mother's cover letter was submitted in my application stating that she is aged woman and cannot travel alone and she hasnt been able to travel to UK so far because she is looking for travel companion to accompany her due to health reason and navigating through 12 hours connecting flight. Earlier my mother applied with my younger sibling back in June 2023, mother's visa was approved but younger brother visa was refused because of financial circumstances as he wasnt on full time employment.

 You state that you are employed, earn XXX per month, and spend XXX. While I note the employment and financial documents you have provided, I note the documents provided do not demonstrate that you employer is aware of your travel plans or that they have authorised you leave to do so.
Leaves application email was attached in my visa application as supporting document. Email clearly stated dates of my travel to UK to visit my brother, hence availing annual leaves. Leaves were approved by my line manager/functional head on email in same email conversation. Complete email conversation in Outlook was saved as PDF and attached in my visa application. I have checked with my organization and line manager and they were never reached out by ECO to verify my leaves application/approval.

 I note the documents you have provided do not demonstrate you hold, any assets or property of your own and on the balance of probabilities I am not satisfied that you have demonstrated that you have ties to your home country which would encourage you to leave should you be granted entry to the united kingdom.
I do not own any property, we live in joint family arrangement and it was mentioned in my application cover letter as well. Couple of Utility bills under my name were submitted. My bank statements from 4 different banks of 6 months were submitted showing bank balance of GBP20K and explaining every credit transactions in my cover letter. Isnt bank statements itself an Asset ie Cash in hand? Or for visitor visa we also need to own personal property now?

In assessing your entry clearance application, I have considered all of the documents and information provided against the requirements of Appendix V, and have also taken into account the published Visit guidance. The guidance indicates a number of factors which can help assess if an applicant is a genuine visitor, including but not limited to the following:
 their financial circumstances as well as their family, social and economic background
 their personal and economic ties to their country of residence
The concerns noted in the paragraphs above mean that I am not satisfied that you have accurately declared your personal and financial circumstances, which in turn means I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that you are a genuine visitor. Therefore, I am not satisfied that you are genuinely seeking entry as a visitor and that you will leave the UK at the end of your visit. Your application is therefore refused under paragraphs V4.2 (a), (c) of the Immigration Rules.

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I don't want to resubmit my application again because of timelines issues because I wont be able to get next visa biometric appointment until atleast a month waiting (late October) thereby my travel dates would be pushed and I wont be able avail work leaves for that time. What other remedy do I have here? Its clear that ECO hasnt considered my work leaves application email, neither verified the document from my employer, and lastly not considering my bank statement as an asset instead they want me to show proof of property.

[Ticktack]

I have been refused visa with following remarks from ECO. My comments are highlighted in yellow.

I have refused your application for a visit visa because I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph(s) V4.2 – V4.6 of Appendix V of the Immigration Rules because:

 You have applied for a visitor visa to travel to the United Kingdom with your mother, for 29 days, to visit your brother. While I note the reason of your visit, and take into account the ability of your sponsor to maintain and accommodation you in the United Kingdom, this is only one aspect of the visitor rules and this sponsorship in isolation does not satisfy me that you meet the rest of the eligibility requirement of Appendix V of the Immigration Rules
Brother's employment letter, bank statement, apartment lease document and invitation letter was shared.Not sure why you've added 29 days travel. The longer the holidays, the more the suspicion. That's a whole month. What happens with your job?

 In assessing your application it is your personal and financial circumstances which are of importance, and the onus is on you to qualify for entry clearance in your own right. It is your responsibility to satisfy me that your personal circumstances are such that you meet all of the requirements of the above paragraphs of the Immigration Rules, and will leave the United Kingdom on completion of the proposed visit and you have not done this.

 I note that your mother was issued entry clearance as a visitor, and she has indicated you will not be accompanying her to the United Kingdom. Whilst I accept that circumstances may change I must consider that the Entry Clearance officer had issued your mother’s visa taking into account that her immediate family members would be remaining in your country of residence. Your family’s travel plans have now changed just a short time after your mother UK visa was issued, and no explanation for this change of plans has been made in your application.
My mother's cover letter was submitted in my application stating that she is aged woman and cannot travel alone and she hasnt been able to travel to UK so far because she is looking for travel companion to accompany her due to health reason and navigating through 12 hours connecting flight. Earlier my mother applied with my younger sibling back in June 2023, mother's visa was approved but younger brother visa was refused because of financial circumstances as he wasnt on full time employment. Not sure why you've said you're travelling with your mum. The cover story of her not able to travel alone would never fly. This is 2023, there's airport/airline assistance. They would move her from point A to point P. You should have applied in your own right. ECO also feels like your mum has tried to use her condition to move one of you out of the country. Just saying.

 You state that you are employed, earn XXX per month, and spend XXX. While I note the employment and financial documents you have provided, I note the documents provided do not demonstrate that you employer is aware of your travel plans or that they have authorised you leave to do so.
Leaves application email was attached in my visa application as supporting document. Email clearly stated dates of my travel to UK to visit my brother, hence availing annual leaves. Leaves were approved by my line manager/functional head on email in same email conversation. Complete email conversation in Outlook was saved as PDF and attached in my visa application. I have checked with my organization and line manager and they were never reached out by ECO to verify my leaves application/approval. Rookie mistake using outlook. Why haven't you asked your line manager or HR to write you a letter on an official letterheaded paper stating that you would be on leave and plan to travel to the UK during this period? That's much neater and more credible that your PDFs. The ECO doesn't have time to go through your email trails.

 I note the documents you have provided do not demonstrate you hold, any assets or property of your own and on the balance of probabilities I am not satisfied that you have demonstrated that you have ties to your home country which would encourage you to leave should you be granted entry to the united kingdom.
I do not own any property, we live in joint family arrangement and it was mentioned in my application cover letter as well. Couple of Utility bills under my name were submitted. My bank statements from 4 different banks of 6 months were submitted showing bank balance of GBP20K and explaining every credit transactions in my cover letter. Isnt bank statements itself an Asset ie Cash in hand? Or for visitor visa we also need to own personal property now? Assets aren't really a problem. I guess he's just added that in there to beef up the rejection. Sorta cover all the bases. About your £20k, how has this come about? Do you earn enough monthly? What's your outgoing? Are all "ins and outs" of the account crystal clear and not overshooting your monthlies?

In assessing your entry clearance application, I have considered all of the documents and information provided against the requirements of Appendix V, and have also taken into account the published Visit guidance. The guidance indicates a number of factors which can help assess if an applicant is a genuine visitor, including but not limited to the following:
 their financial circumstances as well as their family, social and economic background
 their personal and economic ties to their country of residence
The concerns noted in the paragraphs above mean that I am not satisfied that you have accurately declared your personal and financial circumstances, which in turn means I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that you are a genuine visitor. Therefore, I am not satisfied that you are genuinely seeking entry as a visitor and that you will leave the UK at the end of your visit. Your application is therefore refused under paragraphs V4.2 (a), (c) of the Immigration Rules.

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I don't want to resubmit my application again because of timelines issues because I wont be able to get next visa biometric appointment until atleast a month waiting (late October) thereby my travel dates would be pushed and I wont be able avail work leaves for that time. What other remedy do I have here? Its clear that ECO hasnt considered my work leaves application email, neither verified the document from my employer, and lastly not considering my bank statement as an asset instead they want me to show proof of property.

Wait until your mum gets back from the UK. Relax and strategize properly before you go again. If you rush back in, you would only be rushed back out.