had ENOUGH of waiting for Certificate of Approval (CoA)

ld10 wrote:I applied at the end of July 2009,still waiting for COA!
Any success?

Same as me,(applied end of july),no news,nothing,still waiting!!!!!!
my girlfriend wants to go on holliday,called them about passport and asked about my COA ,they say its in the procces and passport will send in 10 days,its already 7 month.CRAZY!!!!!!! Its affecting all my plans and frustraiting relationship with my wife to be.[/quote]


The same,we demanded our ID and passport.
They sent the ID of my fiancee on thursday,still holding my passport.
On August last year,they wrote to me saying that due to backlog they are working on April 09 applications.now it is 4 months since that letter,i dont know how this backlog gonna be cleared!We involved our MP,they wrote the same language,BACKLOG.
Really frustrating!

kmmk wrote:Hello everyone! Im new here:)
We sent COA application in July, then in August they ask us for affidavit so we sent them back and still waiting :/
It has been 6 months now. Im tired of waiting

KMMK,am still waiting !!!!!

maganzo wrote:

hamid84 wrote:Lucky you Juv and congrats.

My partner applied for COA in October. After 6 weeks HO requested for Affifavit which we sent with in a week along other documents and still waiting.

What can i do to speed up the process?

I applied at the end of July 2009,still waiting for COA!
Any success?

Hi Mates,

Im living in the same stress as you all. Applied for my coa on the 27th of July 2009, received letter for some more documents on mid sep, and trust me guys, im still waiting , really fed up , my wife to be is 5 month pregnant , she is so stressed, my family too and i realy dont know what to do. My lawyer is fed up from my calls and since november , i keep calling him at least twice a month and he doesnt want him to answer, My visa will expired on mid July and i will lose my job if i dont have new visa ????????????????????. Good luck to us all

kimuk30 wrote:

maganzo wrote:

hamid84 wrote:Lucky you Juv and congrats.

My partner applied for COA in October. After 6 weeks HO requested for Affifavit which we sent with in a week along other documents and still waiting.

What can i do to speed up the process?

I applied at the end of July 2009,still waiting for COA!
Any success?

Hi Mates,

Im living in the same stress as you all. Applied for my coa on the 27th of July 2009, received letter for some more documents on mid sep, and trust me guys, im still waiting , really fed up , my wife to be is 5 month pregnant , she is so stressed, my family too and i realy dont know what to do. My lawyer is fed up from my calls and since november , i keep calling him at least twice a month and he doesnt want him to answer, My visa will expired on mid July and i will lose my job if i dont have new visa ????????????????????. Good luck to us all

Oh my gosh, you've got me really hating your lawyer. If I were you I'd fire his mule. You paid him so he should at least be answering your calls. I'm sorry you're going through this. Sounds incredibly stressful.

When all this is going to end??!!??
if its will end than i guess when applying for spouse visa its gonna take another 6 months at lits if not more!!!!!!!!whats happening???soon i think they will end this marieges things and spouse visas for people or will make it harder,to many people applying and half of it fake marieges i guess.

thats why i guess

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8444360.stm

I'm not very happy about that bbc article, the HO have obviously looked at all the cases up to nov 2009 if they have made a judgement on how many of them are suspected shams. I sent mine in July 2009, I hope that doesn't that mean I'm in the alleged sham group!!!
I am so worried about my wedding this is the biggest day of my life and I don't even know if it can go ahead yet.

I don't even think they are sham marriages in that article, getting a COA seems really difficult to me, why would you bother going through all this hassle if it wasn't genuine.

katiepop wrote:I'm not very happy about that bbc article, the HO have obviously looked at all the cases up to nov 2009 if they have made a judgement on how many of them are suspected shams. I sent mine in July 2009, I hope that doesn't that mean I'm in the alleged sham group!!!
I am so worried about my wedding this is the biggest day of my life and I don't even know if it can go ahead yet.

I don't even think they are sham marriages in that article, getting a COA seems really difficult to me, why would you bother going through all this hassle if it wasn't genuine.

There is a video on that page which explains everything very well.

and one more here where bbc shows all this to Phil Woolas.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8446723.stm

I still don't get it at all. How are these fake couples able to get married so easily, surely they have to apply for a COA - how come they're not waiting 8 months for it and writing letters of complaint and letters to MPs like me!!

Also how can I get an appointment at that office in the video where that man decides if you can get married, that seems better than all this waiting round for certificates LOL

katiepop wrote:I still don't get it at all. How are these fake couples able to get married so easily, surely they have to apply for a COA - how come they're not waiting 8 months for it and writing letters of complaint and letters to MPs like me!!

Also how can I get an appointment at that office in the video where that man decides if you can get married, that seems better than all this waiting round for certificates LOL

That man is registar,you will get an appoitment with him on your wedding day once you received COA,he will register your marriage.

I don't know if anyone has been reading my posts, but have already said that the COA scheme is unlawful and I have been given this advice by one of the leading immigration barristers in the country. Just waiting for my JR to conclude itself but will then challenge the legality of the continuation of the Home Office insistence on having a COA

to speed things up I would get a solicitor involved and have him write to the HO and threaten a JR unless they issue the COA. They'll have 14days to reply. You'll get it by then

What does JR stand for??
I need any help I can get! No one has answered me about how these fake couples are getting the COA so fast. Is it possible that I can try to get married without it? BY the way let me just stress that I'm NOT in a sham marriage I'm just extremely jealous that I'm finding it so hard to get a COA for my genuine relationship when the media are portraying that any old foreigner can turn up with a partner and get married. so not fair

JR = Judicial Review. You are taking the Home Office to court.

Just get a solicitor to threaten them with a JR because they are currently preventing you from exercising you human right to marry - this is against the law and was ruled upon in July08.

Any assistance private message me

katiepop wrote:What does JR stand for??
I need any help I can get! No one has answered me about how these fake couples are getting the COA so fast. Is it possible that I can try to get married without it? BY the way let me just stress that I'm NOT in a sham marriage I'm just extremely jealous that I'm finding it so hard to get a COA for my genuine relationship when the media are portraying that any old foreigner can turn up with a partner and get married. so not fair

The media tends to manipulate things and change peoples' opinions to get the atmosphere they want to achieve. Don't listen to the media for speed of COA approval, it's definitely inaccurate.

My advice is, get married in a third country. It's a quick process, not to mention the option of a beach wedding!!!

if you get married abroad you'll have to either apply for a spouse visa before returning. If you enter without telling the border agents about the marriage when you come to applying on the FLR(M) application there's a good chance the visa will be turned down because of your "change of circumstances".

get married here - you are legally entitled to and if the HO delays the granting of the COA you can sue them for breaching your human right to a "family life". Just get a solicitor to threaten them and you should get it quickly

ginoT wrote:if you get married abroad you'll have to either apply for a spouse visa before returning. If you enter without telling the border agents about the marriage when you come to applying on the FLR(M) application there's a good chance the visa will be turned down because of your "change of circumstances".

get married here - you are legally entitled to and if the HO delays the granting of the COA you can sue them for breaching your human right to a "family life". Just get a solicitor to threaten them and you should get it quickly

Did you do it this way already?What are results?
If its like you saying why HO not granting COA for everyone who applying?

I haven't done this precisely myself. However I am involved in a Judicial Review, understand how things work at this advanced legal stage, and have directly helped some individuals get their spouse visas despite the Home Office not offering a right of appeal.

So, why do the Home Office let the COA proccess drag on forever and not simply immediately send it out? Answers:

1 - they are a huge, poorly managed, cumbersome bureaucracy. Everything takes forever

2 - maybe they have some internal targets in terms of issuing COAs they want to keep within

3 - maybe by delaying and potentially refusing to grant the COA they actually stop genuine sham marriages from taking place. The refusal and time process is such a pain people are inclined simply not to bother finally, or potentially make immigration mistakes (eg marry abroad but don't tell anyone upon returning) and thus help increase the number of refusals.

however, as soon as you start to play the game properly, with threats of JR etc they are obliged by law to act within certain time frames and will be compelled by the courts to pay costs and damages if they don't meet these requirements. Most people are simply not in the know, can't be bothered to find out, or don't have the small funds & time required to follow up with a good solicitor. So they end up having their lives dictated by the Home Office and live a misery as a result.

There will be some costs involved, getting a solicitor to write the letter and potentially some follow up, but assuming the Home Office wake up quickly the financial loss to you (solicitors fees will be less than 300 or 400pounds). There is a chance however the Home Office don't do anything, call your bluff and let you carry on with the JR which will be expensive but at least you know that you'll win and that everything will be decided in your favour at court.

Dear Gino ,

I've just spoke to my lawyer and we will take HO to the high court and my lawyer already started with the procedures, i applied last july and still waiting for answer, my visa will finich in july its mean that i will have to stop my job ( been working for 5 years)and my partner is 5 month pregnant its mean defintly is not shame marriage or whaever, will spend money again with lawyer but a least we will know why they are taking forever. will keep u updated what will happened.

Anyone applied on July and received any answer , please let us know huys.

Thanks everyone.

Regards

ginoT wrote:I haven't done this precisely myself. However I am involved in a Judicial Review, understand how things work at this advanced legal stage, and have directly helped some individuals get their spouse visas despite the Home Office not offering a right of appeal.

So, why do the Home Office let the COA proccess drag on forever and not simply immediately send it out? Answers:

1 - they are a huge, poorly managed, cumbersome bureaucracy. Everything takes forever

2 - maybe they have some internal targets in terms of issuing COAs they want to keep within

3 - maybe by delaying and potentially refusing to grant the COA they actually stop genuine sham marriages from taking place. The refusal and time process is such a pain people are inclined simply not to bother finally, or potentially make immigration mistakes (eg marry abroad but don't tell anyone upon returning) and thus help increase the number of refusals.

however, as soon as you start to play the game properly, with threats of JR etc they are obliged by law to act within certain time frames and will be compelled by the courts to pay costs and damages if they don't meet these requirements. Most people are simply not in the know, can't be bothered to find out, or don't have the small funds & time required to follow up with a good solicitor. So they end up having their lives dictated by the Home Office and live a misery as a result.

There will be some costs involved, getting a solicitor to write the letter and potentially some follow up, but assuming the Home Office wake up quickly the financial loss to you (solicitors fees will be less than 300 or 400pounds). There is a chance however the Home Office don't do anything, call your bluff and let you carry on with the JR which will be expensive but at least you know that you'll win and that everything will be decided in your favour at court.

one piece of advice when doing the JR. There are specific time frames for both parties to respond. Your lawyer might suggest you be flexible when waiting for a response. My recommendation is to wait 1 extra week at each stage if you don't get a reply. Don't give them an infinite amount of time to respond as you'll just end up delaying it futher for no reason. Stages are

1 - letter before action
2 - formal request for JR
3 - submission of papers

etc..

PM if you want more info, of just check out the posts I've previously written for more info

Once you've been able to get the COA or whatever you want from the HO, request costs and if you can prove you've had loss of earnings as a result, damages (although the latter is much harder to prove)

kimuk30 wrote:Dear Gino ,

I've just spoke to my lawyer and we will take HO to the high court and my lawyer already started with the procedures, i applied last july and still waiting for answer, my visa will finich in july its mean that i will have to stop my job ( been working for 5 years)and my partner is 5 month pregnant its mean defintly is not shame marriage or whaever, will spend money again with lawyer but a least we will know why they are taking forever. will keep u updated what will happened.

Anyone applied on July and received any answer , please let us know huys.

Thanks everyone.

Regards

ginoT wrote:I haven't done this precisely myself. However I am involved in a Judicial Review, understand how things work at this advanced legal stage, and have directly helped some individuals get their spouse visas despite the Home Office not offering a right of appeal.

So, why do the Home Office let the COA proccess drag on forever and not simply immediately send it out? Answers:

1 - they are a huge, poorly managed, cumbersome bureaucracy. Everything takes forever

2 - maybe they have some internal targets in terms of issuing COAs they want to keep within

3 - maybe by delaying and potentially refusing to grant the COA they actually stop genuine sham marriages from taking place. The refusal and time process is such a pain people are inclined simply not to bother finally, or potentially make immigration mistakes (eg marry abroad but don't tell anyone upon returning) and thus help increase the number of refusals.

however, as soon as you start to play the game properly, with threats of JR etc they are obliged by law to act within certain time frames and will be compelled by the courts to pay costs and damages if they don't meet these requirements. Most people are simply not in the know, can't be bothered to find out, or don't have the small funds & time required to follow up with a good solicitor. So they end up having their lives dictated by the Home Office and live a misery as a result.

There will be some costs involved, getting a solicitor to write the letter and potentially some follow up, but assuming the Home Office wake up quickly the financial loss to you (solicitors fees will be less than 300 or 400pounds). There is a chance however the Home Office don't do anything, call your bluff and let you carry on with the JR which will be expensive but at least you know that you'll win and that everything will be decided in your favour at court.

Kimuk30,
I also applied in JULY2009,the waiting game is still continuing!
It seems JULY applications are pending,without any reason.
The officiol language is BACKLOG,even if you use the MP.

I wish i could ask for JR,but we have no money It is really to pay a solicitor!
It is really painful process!

Hello All,

I applied for my COA in April last year and got it the same month. It seems that the HO has gone down hill since then.

I suggest those who are waiting should contact the Freedom of Information Team and ask them for the number of applicants that applied in July, the number of COAs processed and the number still outstanding.

This should give you a good idea of where you may possibly stand.

Legally the HO has to respond to you.

Good luck!

Dear Maganzo and the rest,

Any news abt the poeple who applied for coa on July 2009, because they are still making me wait. please guys keep us updated if somebody receive his at least we will have some hope.

Regards,

maganzo wrote:

kimuk30 wrote:Dear Gino ,

I've just spoke to my lawyer and we will take HO to the high court and my lawyer already started with the procedures, i applied last july and still waiting for answer, my visa will finich in july its mean that i will have to stop my job ( been working for 5 years)and my partner is 5 month pregnant its mean defintly is not shame marriage or whaever, will spend money again with lawyer but a least we will know why they are taking forever. will keep u updated what will happened.

Anyone applied on July and received any answer , please let us know huys.

Thanks everyone.

Regards

ginoT wrote:I haven't done this precisely myself. However I am involved in a Judicial Review, understand how things work at this advanced legal stage, and have directly helped some individuals get their spouse visas despite the Home Office not offering a right of appeal.

So, why do the Home Office let the COA proccess drag on forever and not simply immediately send it out? Answers:

1 - they are a huge, poorly managed, cumbersome bureaucracy. Everything takes forever

2 - maybe they have some internal targets in terms of issuing COAs they want to keep within

3 - maybe by delaying and potentially refusing to grant the COA they actually stop genuine sham marriages from taking place. The refusal and time process is such a pain people are inclined simply not to bother finally, or potentially make immigration mistakes (eg marry abroad but don't tell anyone upon returning) and thus help increase the number of refusals.

however, as soon as you start to play the game properly, with threats of JR etc they are obliged by law to act within certain time frames and will be compelled by the courts to pay costs and damages if they don't meet these requirements. Most people are simply not in the know, can't be bothered to find out, or don't have the small funds & time required to follow up with a good solicitor. So they end up having their lives dictated by the Home Office and live a misery as a result.

There will be some costs involved, getting a solicitor to write the letter and potentially some follow up, but assuming the Home Office wake up quickly the financial loss to you (solicitors fees will be less than 300 or 400pounds). There is a chance however the Home Office don't do anything, call your bluff and let you carry on with the JR which will be expensive but at least you know that you'll win and that everything will be decided in your favour at court.

Kimuk30,
I also applied in JULY2009,the waiting game is still continuing!
It seems JULY applications are pending,without any reason.
The officiol language is BACKLOG,even if you use the MP.

I wish i could ask for JR,but we have no money It is really to pay a solicitor!
It is really painful process!

still waiting,news from one solisitor that all who applyed last year waiting 4+months,who applyed this year about 2 months.its only statistic.i suspect that count begins from date when you sent them affidavits.

ld10 wrote:still waiting,news from one solisitor that all who applyed last year waiting 4+months,who applyed this year about 2 months.its only statistic.i suspect that count begins from date when you sent them affidavits.

Id10 and others,
still waiting for COA.I hope if one receive the COA ,will post the results,especially the July 09 applications.
Yrs,
Maganzo