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Visit visa application for mother in law refused

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Driver27
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Sri Lanka

Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Driver27 » Sun Dec 29, 2019 7:14 pm

Hi

I should have asked for some advice here before I applied. Better late than never I guess so here goes.
My wife is currently pregnant and we are expecting our fist child in the first week of February. Our plan was to get my mother in law over for a period of 4-6 months to help with the arrival of the new baby.

I applied for a visa application with what I thought was sufficient evidence as required by the application. Unfortunately the application has now been refused. I intend to apply again soon and would like some help.

Some points about the initial application
  • One of the questions on the application form was "How much money are you personally planning to spend on your visit to the UK?". She had about 1000 pounds in her account and we put £500 on the application form. We also made it very clear that my wife and I will be sponsoring her visit entirely (£1000 each is what we put on the application form). We don't expect her (applicant) to spend any of her money.
  • My wife transferred about £800 in to her mother's bank account about 10 days before the application was submitted. This was so she could use the money to buy things in Sri Lanka before her visit (I now realise this was a bad idea).
The main reason for rejection was to do with insufficient funds. Without going in to too much detail, here were some of the main points stated.
  • "You have stated that you will be spending on your proposed visit to the UK LKR 117,929 (£500) on your 180 days visit, I am not satisfied this expenditure is realistic for a stay of 26 weeks as it would give you a daily spend of approximately £2.70." (There was no mention about the fact that we said we will sponsor her visit).
  • I also note that the account ***3848 with a final balance of LKR 249,813 (£1059) was credited on the 18/11/2019 with LKR 200,000 (£847) previous balance was LKR 49,813 (£211). This a sign of artificial inflation before application and leads me to doubt the credibility of yours funds.
__________________________________________________________

I'm now considering putting in a fresh application and explaining the reasons for the points mentioned above.
I don't intend my mother in law to spend any of her money however I'm unable to put £0 in the question regarding "how much of your money do you plan on spending...". I'm not sure what to do regarding this!

She owns the house she is living in and we submitted proof of this (house deed). She has six children, one of her sons and two daughters live in Sri Lanka. She lives with her son and husband. I'm not sure what proof I can provide to show that she has strong ties to Sri Lanka and will return at the end of her stay.

I've used the sponsor letter template available here (general-uk-immigration-forum/visitor-vi ... 51723.html) to write up a proper sponsor letter.

I'm sorry about the length of this post. My wife and I feeling quite desperate as it is nearing her delivery date.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You

Driver27
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Sri Lanka

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Driver27 » Tue Dec 31, 2019 5:07 pm

The first time, we applied for a 6 month visa although it was likely that my mother in law would have only stayed for about 4 months. I put 6 months just in case.
Given that the first application was refused. If I was to now apply asking for only 4 months is that likely to harm the application.

One of the reasons for refusal was that £500 is insufficient to survive for 6 moths (Case officer had divided £500 by 180 days and suggested that isn't enough money for each day). We did make it clear that the sponsors will each provide £1000 each (two sponsors).

Thanks

Route to ILR
Member of Standing
Posts: 273
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Route to ILR » Fri Jan 03, 2020 2:11 pm

Driver27 wrote:
Tue Dec 31, 2019 5:07 pm
The first time, we applied for a 6 month visa although it was likely that my mother in law would have only stayed for about 4 months. I put 6 months just in case.
Given that the first application was refused. If I was to now apply asking for only 4 months is that likely to harm the application.

One of the reasons for refusal was that £500 is insufficient to survive for 6 moths (Case officer had divided £500 by 180 days and suggested that isn't enough money for each day). We did make it clear that the sponsors will each provide £1000 each (two sponsors).

Thanks
Hi,

You need to demonstrate that she has strong ties back home social and economic so she will go back after the short visit.
If she can stay for 6 or 4 months, Probability is she can stay for 4 to 5 years or may be will never go back in the eyes of ECO (Entry Clerance Officer).

what documents you provided for her ties? 4 weeks visit is more than enough to get the visa.

Now as she refused before its very hard to convince them (ECO) that she is a geniune visitor.

Driver27
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Sri Lanka

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Driver27 » Sat Jan 04, 2020 10:31 pm

Regarding economic ties the problem I've got is that she is a housewife and has never had a job. As such she isn't earning a pension or any kind of investment. The only thing we were able to show is that she owns the house she lives in (4 bedroom detached house).
Her sons who live in Dubai and Japan provide for her (and her husband's) financial needs. Again the issue is the money doesn't always go directly to her account. It might usually get to them via someone else who might be travelling.

I'm not sure what exactly I can provide to show social ties. I was only able to write on the application form that she has a son and two daughters still living in Sri Lanka and that she lives with her husband and one of her sons. What documents could I show that she has social ties in Sri Lanka.

- "Now as she refused before its very hard to convince them (ECO) that she is a geniune visitor."
Unfortunately I fear the same. I feel it might be worth another try anyway but I'm not holding on to much hope. I should have thought through this more carefully the first time we applied. I thought that given that her daughter is giving birth it would be quite straightforward.

Thanks very much for your help.

srsw
Senior Member
Posts: 866
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:31 pm

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by srsw » Sat Jan 04, 2020 11:41 pm

My mom got her UK visitor visa rejected first time as we didn't read all the rules well. This was 10+ yrs ago. We mentioned in the form that she will probably stay for 5 to 7 months. We wanted her to come for same reason (to help her daughter-in-law post pregnancy). Max stay on visitor visa allowed was 6 months, so application got rejected.

We reapplied, explained in a covering letter about our mistake as this was the first time we applied for visitors visa and not familiarising with rules. We clearly mentioned that she will leave and mentioned about husband, eldest son, property in her name, etc. ties in home country (with copies of their passports, certified translated copy of property document, etc). We also attached copies of daughter-in-law's NHS appointment letters for scanning to prove that she was pregnant and when she was due for delivery.

Also, mentioned about how our elders help after pregnancy, especially first born and the immense help she would be for daughter in-law while she recovers fully. Her application got approved second time.

Sometimes just explaining your previous application mistakes and submitting better proofs will get the job done. You have not much choice anyway, so reapply and hope for the best.

They may not be lienient like 10+ years ago, but it's still a human who goes through the application, so they may understand your situation and grant the visa. Good luck!
My advice is based on personal research/experience, so pls check relevant UKVI sources.

Driver27
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Sri Lanka

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Driver27 » Sun Jan 05, 2020 1:03 pm

srsw, thanks very much for your reply. That actually gives me a little more hope but as you mention things might be quite different now.
Since documents are uploaded online now, I wonder if they even read the cover letter. Nonetheless your comments are really useful and I will submit a cover letter explaining the same.

Hopefully they will see that this is a genuine visit and for a very reasonable purpose.
Thanks

Driver27
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Sri Lanka

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Driver27 » Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:30 pm

One of the questions on the application form is

"How much money are you personally planning to spend on your visit to the UK?"
I don't expect my mother in law to spend any of her own money. What should I put in this field? It won't take a value of zero?


For the sake of some background
When I applied the first time I put £500 in this field as I didn't know what else to do! She only had about £800 in her account. I assumed the case officer would also take the money promised by the sponsor but I don't think they did. One of the reasons given in the decision letter regarding the refusal was that £500 over 6 months only amounts to £2.70 per day and this is unrealistic.

So given this I'm really confused about what to write in this field.

Thanks again for your time and help

Route to ILR
Member of Standing
Posts: 273
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Route to ILR » Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:09 am

Driver27 wrote:
Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:30 pm
One of the questions on the application form is

"How much money are you personally planning to spend on your visit to the UK?"
I don't expect my mother in law to spend any of her own money. What should I put in this field? It won't take a value of zero?


For the sake of some background
When I applied the first time I put £500 in this field as I didn't know what else to do! She only had about £800 in her account. I assumed the case officer would also take the money promised by the sponsor but I don't think they did. One of the reasons given in the decision letter regarding the refusal was that £500 over 6 months only amounts to £2.70 per day and this is unrealistic.

So given this I'm really confused about what to write in this field.

Thanks again for your time and help
That's a tricky part, u need to fill very carefully. for 4 weeks stay 400 to 500 pound sounds ok. As u previously said that she will stay for 6 months £500 sounds very low. So realistically 400 for 4 weeks should do the work.

What your brother and sisters who live in sri lanka do????? If they r working try to get letters from their employer, if they r studying letters fro school or college will do the work.

Driver27
Junior Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:28 pm
Sri Lanka

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by Driver27 » Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:29 pm

Hi
Thanks for your reply.

What I meant was that my mother in law won't be spending any of her own money. It won't allow me to put zero in that field so I'm wondering if I should just put £1 and explain that sponsors (my wife and I) will be paying for everything.

Since we already applied for 6 month visa I doubt asking for a 4 week stay is going to sound genuine.
She will very likely only stay for about 3-4 months until my wife is back on her feet.

srsw
Senior Member
Posts: 866
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:31 pm

Re: Visit visa application for mother in law refused

Post by srsw » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:00 pm

Driver27 wrote:
Thu Jan 09, 2020 10:29 pm
Hi
Thanks for your reply.

What I meant was that my mother in law won't be spending any of her own money. It won't allow me to put zero in that field so I'm wondering if I should just put £1 and explain that sponsors (my wife and I) will be paying for everything.

Since we already applied for 6 month visa I doubt asking for a 4 week stay is going to sound genuine.
She will very likely only stay for about 3-4 months until my wife is back on her feet.
It will be better to show that she has xyz amount at her disposal, which she can use for this trip. She doesn't necessarily need to use her funds or show bills to immigration officer when she leaves UK, so don't worry too much. You can always mention that majority of the costs will be borne by you.

For 4 months visitor visa we gave the following estimate:

74 WHAT IS THE COST TO YOU PERSONALLY OF YOUR TRIP IN GBP(£)?
250

75 THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU HAVE FOR THIS TRIP
5000

76 THE COST OF THE AEROPLANE, BOAT OR TRAIN TICKETS
800

77 THE COST OF YOUR ACCOMMODATION 0

78 THE COST OF YOUR LIVING EXPENSES 0

79 IS SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOU PAYING FOR ALL OR A PART OF YOUR TRIP?
YES

80 PLEASE SELECT WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS OF THE PERSON WHO IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PAYMENT FOR YOUR TRIP?
SON

81 HOW MUCH WILL THEY BE PAYING TOWARDS YOUR TRIP (IN GBP £)?
2500

These were for a recent trip a couple of years ago. Obviously, we provided proofs to substantiate our claims.
My advice is based on personal research/experience, so pls check relevant UKVI sources.

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