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Visa for my Aunty

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Chisomekwu
Junior Member
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:14 pm
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Visa for my Aunty

Post by Chisomekwu » Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:14 pm

I need an advise on this.

I applied for my Aunty, my mum's younger sister who is now retired to visit me from Nigeria, to be around for the birth of her grandniece. She is is my guardian because my mum passed away unfortunately, when i was a kid and my aunty took me in as hers.

My aunty since she retired has been doing business and making money. She buys and sells properties an these huge amount of money goes in and out of her account.

I submitted her application in April 2023 and included these documents
  • Bank Statement (£5500 balance, plus credit card statement of £2000)
Another bank statement of almost £10000
  • Employment letter which clearly states my employment and annual salary
    • Copy of British Passport Data Page
    Sponsorship Declaration Letter
6 Months payslip
  • Proof of Address (Mortgage)
    • Invitation letter
    Sonogram Pic of my unborn child
    • Her banks statement of Accounts

      In the application, I listed that my aunty is retired but i will be sponsoring her the 3 months she intends to stay in the UK and confirmed she will be staying at my house which is a 3 bedroom. But to my greatest surprise, she was denied a visa only because huge amount of money which she made from sale of properties which came into her account few weeks before she printed her bank statements

      See below

      I have refused your application for a visit visa because I am not satisfied that you meet the
      requirements of paragraph(s) V4.2 of Appendix V because:
       You intend to visit the UK for 3 months to visit your nephew. In assessing your
      application I have considered the information provided, personal and financial
      circumstances and the credibility of your trip in the context of its timing and your stated
      intentions.
       You state that you are retired, have other regular income of 10,000,000.00 NGN
      (£17,317.3) per year and are personally planning to spend 2500.00 GBP on your
      proposed visit to the UK. I acknowledge that you have submitted documents including
      bank statements to demonstrate your personal and financial circumstances.
       I acknowledge a bank statement in your name with Zenith Bank PLC with a closing
      balance of 1,003,751.67 NGN (£1,738.23). However there are large credits therein and
      the supporting information does not demonstrate the source of these funds. I am
      therefore not satisfied that you have given an accurate reflection of your financial
      circumstances in Nigeria, that what is stated in your application is genuine and your
      intentions to visit the UK at this time are as stated.
       I have taken into consideration all the remaining supporting information you have
      enclosed in support of your application. I am not satisfied your intentions for wishing to
      visit the UK at this time or that your current personal and financial circumstances in
      country of residency are as stated by you.
       Given the above I am not satisfied that you are genuinely seeking entry for a purpose
      that is permitted under the visitor route and that you will leave the UK at the end of
      your visit. Your application is therefore refused under paragraph V 4.2 (a), (c) of the
      Immigration Rules.


      I am a bit upset because i am the sponsor and i do not understand why they made the decision based on the money in her account rather than my ability to take care of her bills while she visits. She only included her Statement of account just to support her application and £2500 she planned to spend would be on top of the money i intend to spend when she visits. She travels to America twice a year and i felt that would even give her an edge with the application.

      Now I intend to re-apply and i am going to say she does not earn any money and only depend on money from family members as a retiree but i am not sure if this would make any difference to the new application.

      I would appreciate any advice on this

meself2
Moderator
Posts: 3204
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 4:10 pm
Ireland

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by meself2 » Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:46 pm

Chisomekwu wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:14 pm
Now I intend to re-apply and i am going to say she does not earn any money and only depend on money from family members as a retiree but i am not sure if this would make any difference to the new application.
You would still need to include her bank statement. Even though you're intending to sponsor her, caseworker would want to see her state of financial affairs, and the issue would be the same again, especially since it might be looked into more carefully due to the last refusal.
Also, what is holding her back to the country, what will make her return?

I'm not sure what to do here; other members may advise further. Possibly add a cover letter with explanation of each and every transaction that seems questionable?
Not a qualified immigration adviser. Use links and references given to gain confirmation and/or extra information.

Chisomekwu
Junior Member
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:14 pm
Mood:

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by Chisomekwu » Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:56 pm

meself2 wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:46 pm
Chisomekwu wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:14 pm
Now I intend to re-apply and i am going to say she does not earn any money and only depend on money from family members as a retiree but i am not sure if this would make any difference to the new application.
You would still need to include her bank statement. Even though you're intending to sponsor her, caseworker would want to see her state of financial affairs, and the issue would be the same again, especially since it might be looked into more carefully due to the last refusal.
Also, what is holding her back to the country, what will make her return?

I'm not sure what to do here; other members may advise further. Possibly add a cover letter with explanation of each and every transaction that seems questionable?
To be honest i am not sure what else to do. I am so disappointed right now. I fee l if i say the does not earn any money that would even complicate the application the second time. I am not sure what else to do this time.

meself2
Moderator
Posts: 3204
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 4:10 pm
Ireland

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by meself2 » Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:59 pm

Chisomekwu wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:56 pm
meself2 wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:46 pm
Chisomekwu wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:14 pm
Now I intend to re-apply and i am going to say she does not earn any money and only depend on money from family members as a retiree but i am not sure if this would make any difference to the new application.
You would still need to include her bank statement. Even though you're intending to sponsor her, caseworker would want to see her state of financial affairs, and the issue would be the same again, especially since it might be looked into more carefully due to the last refusal.
Also, what is holding her back to the country, what will make her return?

I'm not sure what to do here; other members may advise further. Possibly add a cover letter with explanation of each and every transaction that seems questionable?
To be honest i am not sure what else to do. I am so disappointed right now. I fee l if i say the does not earn any money that would even complicate the application the second time. I am not sure what else to do this time.
You can't just flip the situation on 180 from previous application. They can and will check the old data and if they see her income has decreased from 17k to nothing would be a red flag for obvious reasons. Don't try to gamble the system like that.
Wait for the other folks to advise further.
Not a qualified immigration adviser. Use links and references given to gain confirmation and/or extra information.

zaynab79
Member
Posts: 210
Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 12:07 pm

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by zaynab79 » Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:53 pm

Correct my understanding did you not show her property business? If not then you should add that she buys property and sells those for a profit to earn income and then show the property papers to evidence her income and large deposits. They have questions on the deposits in her account so you need to justify those. Also stating that her stay will be of 3 months is too long 4-6 weeks should be enough. If she gets the visa then she can stay longer anyway.
Her property business is the reason she will return to her country as those are financial and economic ties.

lolo2
Senior Member
Posts: 618
Joined: Thu Oct 24, 2019 7:14 pm
Venezuela

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by lolo2 » Mon Jun 05, 2023 10:18 pm

She could include a financial statement from a certified accountant declaring the source of the income. The reasons for the refusal clearly states the lack of evidence supporting those transactions.
I acknowledge a bank statement in your name with Zenith Bank PLC with a closing
balance of 1,003,751.67 NGN (£1,738.23). However there are large credits therein and
the supporting information does not demonstrate the source of these funds
I don't think dismissing all the financial information in a second application will have a positive impact on the outcome. Credit card statements are not required for a visa application Guide to supporting documents-Visiting the UK

Also the general consensus in this forum is that declaring a newborn as the main reason for a parent (or grandparent) to visit their children living in the UK can raise some red flags to the ECO.

We all understand the importance of the occasion for every family, but it doesn't necessarily work in that way at UKVI. It might be seen as an applicant's attempt to come to the UK to work (as a carer of the child), which is not allowed with a visit visa. It always has been advised to refrain declaring this as the main reason of the visit.

AmazonianX
Respected Guru
Posts: 7305
Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2019 1:09 pm

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by AmazonianX » Tue Jun 06, 2023 12:16 am

It is not only your ability to bear the cost of the journey and make her comfortable in UK that will be looked at. Her personal and financial circumstances are also factored in making decision so dont be upset that while it appears you presented what's required on your part and no bad comment on it the ECO is looking at her own situation.
Application is evidence based and convincing the ECO applicant is a genuine visitor; burden of proof is on applicant not ECO/HO.

Financial: Convincing explanation for transactions as it appears business money is flowing into personal account (not clear from your account).

Ties to home country: what physical, family, financial etc ties does she have to Nigeria that can convince ECO she will return to Nigeria after her intended visit? While travel history to USA is evidenced, you are dealing with another country's immigration system with their own requirements and how they look at/interprete things.

Address reason for refusal, look for other areas of the application that needs shoring up.

Where possible, seek clarifications on here before she submits new application.

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Ticktack
Respected Guru
Posts: 2102
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:35 am

Re: Visa for my Aunty

Post by Ticktack » Tue Jun 06, 2023 11:35 am

I'm just going to add a little to all that has been said.

As rightly pointed out already by others, she has a good travel history to the US. However, most people think that just by having a US visa allows you a smooth travel to the UK. No it doesn't. Even people with US passports are sent back at port of entry. Also, people with US greencards are denied UK visa.
The US visa interview doesn't really care about your account, most times, they don't even look at it. With the UK visa system, all pennies are calculated.

Declaring to spend £2,500 is way too much. Most people here don't get that in 2 months.
Sending sonogram pictures was overcooking it. Nanny comes to head!
Coming to spend 3 months to help with the baby. Even though that's a cultural thing, it takes money away from nurseries here in the UK, so you're not helping the economy.

Visas are a game of chess. You have to think your move and also think for your opponent (HO). How would they see it? Is it all idiotproof or would they smell a rat.

Sudden money in the account, never ever ends well. The property she buys and sells is a business. Regardless of how you want to look at it. You should never mix that.

Wait 6 months, ask questions before you make another application. I could go on and on, but it's easier to tell you what you've done wrong in hindsight.
No sin in failing, you just have to try and try again!

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