Permit refused - what are our options?

My wife (she's Ukrainian, I'm a Polish national) has just received her passport via post - it was blank, meaning the permit was refused (as I understand). There was no refusal letter. She didn't receive a refusal letter by e-mail either.

She claims (and I don't know where she got this from, but I cannot convince her otherwise) that we need to pay for the refusal letter, as some additional option in our application. I understood that it was standard practice to give the refusal letter automatically.

First question: will we receive the refusal letter, and if so when is it likely?

Secondly: What are our options? Settled status is coming in in a few weeks. Can she apply as my wife from outside the UK on the grounds of me being here for X years? Should we reapply going through TLS centre again, or can we send evidence directly? I think they did a shoddy job of sending evidence.

Thank you all for your considerate replies!

zkajo wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:23 am

Secondly: What are our options? Settled status is coming in in a few weeks. Can she apply as my wife from outside the UK on the grounds of me being here for X years? Should we reapply going through TLS centre again, or can we send evidence directly? I think they did a shoddy job of sending evidence.

Thank you all for your considerate replies!

She needs to be in the UK to apply for Pre-Settled Status. She should be able to enter the country with her marriage certificate and proof of your residence/working status here, and then apply for Pre-Settled Status from 30 March as the non-EEA wife of a resident EEA citizen.

What is your status - do you have PR or Settled Status or other HO document?

ps: if you look at other posts on travelling without a FP, you will see there is a risk that your wife may be refused entry to the UK if travelling without a FP. In theory, she should be able to enter with her passport, marriage certificate (check if this needs to be professionally translated) and proof of your employment/residential status here and you waiting for her at the UK airport - but there have been cases of non-EEA spouses refused entry because they didn't have a FP.
You may want to consult a lawyer on this - the pro-bono lawyers on UKCEN could help initially.

It is important to establish what the basis of the refusal is.