Spouse Visa - Overstayer - chances of approval?

[Fififadi]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new user and it's my first time posting. Everyone's posts on here are so helpful. Very grateful to the admins of this website and all of the users.

I wanted some advice, hopefully from those with a similar scenario.

I recently applied for my husband's spouse visa (23rd of July). I was introduced to my husband earlier this year for the purpose of getting to know each other for marriage. (Arranged). By March I had decided that we are both very compatible and had the same outlook on life. We hit it off instantly. By the end of March we were engaged and married in April. He was very open and honest with me about overstaying in the UK in the past. He left the UK in 2014 voluntarily, after being detained for some months.

I wanted to know what the chances are of having the visa approved in the first go? Have there been any cases where over stayers have had their visa's approved without it having to go through appeal?

[physicskate]

For clarity, is this an application for entry clearance? Is he currently abroad?

[Fififadi]

Yes - he is currently back in Pakistan and the application is for entry clearance as a spouse

[physicskate]

Yes - he is currently back in Pakistan and the application is for entry clearance as a spouse

In and of itself, the previous overstay is not grounds for refusal. Illegal working, use of deception, etc... are different matters which may or may not be relevant to his case.

[Jaune08]

In and of itself, the previous overstay is not grounds for refusal. Illegal working, use of deception, etc... are different matters which may or may not be relevant to his case.

Exactly, this is more important. Fififadi, rather than the overstay itself, what matters is the surrounding circumstance:
-Did he work illegally or received medical treatment while he overstayed?
-For how long did he overstay? And what was the type of visa he used to enter to the UK initially: student, tourist, etc?
-After he voluntary left the UK in 2014, has he overstayed again?

I'm not an immigration lawyer, but depending on the causes that make him to overstay, it might be a good idea to be honest about that and write down a cover letter where he explains it.

Yes - he is currently back in Pakistan and the application is for entry clearance as a spouse

That's good, at least he's applying from his home country.

[Fififadi]

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it.

Will wait and see what happens. Have applied and used the priority service. I know the decision isn't straight forward and most likely won't be made in the given timescale, but at least i can hope to have a decision before the 3 months processing time. God willing.

[dipakpatel]

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it.

Will wait and see what happens. Have applied and used the priority service. I know the decision isn't straight forward and most likely won't be made in the given timescale, but at least i can hope to have a decision before the 3 months processing time. God willing.

Any reply Sister regarding the status of your application?

[Fififadi]

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it.

Will wait and see what happens. Have applied and used the priority service. I know the decision isn't straight forward and most likely won't be made in the given timescale, but at least i can hope to have a decision before the 3 months processing time. God willing.

Any reply Sister regarding the status of your application?

Hi

No I haven’t received a reply even though we applied for priority service.

Received an email last week to say they hadn’t received sponsors documents, which I had already submitted. So I went and submitted them again. No sure how long it will take now.

[ms1993]

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it.

Will wait and see what happens. Have applied and used the priority service. I know the decision isn't straight forward and most likely won't be made in the given timescale, but at least i can hope to have a decision before the 3 months processing time. God willing.

Any reply Sister regarding the status of your application?

Hi

No I haven’t received a reply even though we applied for priority service.

Received an email last week to say they hadn’t received sponsors documents, which I had already submitted. So I went and submitted them again. No sure how long it will take now.

This is so disappointing Fiffiadi - I’ve been looking out for your posts and will pray for you too, God willing.

[Fififadi]

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it.

Will wait and see what happens. Have applied and used the priority service. I know the decision isn't straight forward and most likely won't be made in the given timescale, but at least i can hope to have a decision before the 3 months processing time. God willing.

Any reply Sister regarding the status of your application?

Hi

No I haven’t received a reply even though we applied for priority service.

Received an email last week to say they hadn’t received sponsors documents, which I had already submitted. So I went and submitted them again. No sure how long it will take now.

This is so disappointing Fiffiadi - I’ve been looking out for your posts and will pray for you too, God willing.

Hey..

Yeah the wait is making me very anxious, I am extremely stressed out!
Thank you, please do keep us in your prayers. I will do the same.

When are your 30 days up?

[ms1993]

Any reply Sister regarding the status of your application?

Hi

No I haven’t received a reply even though we applied for priority service.

Received an email last week to say they hadn’t received sponsors documents, which I had already submitted. So I went and submitted them again. No sure how long it will take now.

This is so disappointing Fiffiadi - I’ve been looking out for your posts and will pray for you too, God willing.

Hey..

Yeah the wait is making me very anxious, I am extremely stressed out!
Thank you, please do keep us in your prayers. I will do the same.

When are your 30 days up?

I’m not surprised but InshaAllah it will be in your favour! We chose the standard service in the end so first week of December... I submitted everything by 19th Sept and now waiting on the ECO email but haven’t had anything so it’s a matter of trying to get on with daily life until we hear anything.

[Fififadi]

Hi

No I haven’t received a reply even though we applied for priority service.

Received an email last week to say they hadn’t received sponsors documents, which I had already submitted. So I went and submitted them again. No sure how long it will take now.

This is so disappointing Fiffiadi - I’ve been looking out for your posts and will pray for you too, God willing.

Hey..

Yeah the wait is making me very anxious, I am extremely stressed out!
Thank you, please do keep us in your prayers. I will do the same.

When are your 30 days up?

I’m not surprised but InshaAllah it will be in your favour! We chose the standard service in the end so first week of December... I submitted everything by 19th Sept and now waiting on the ECO email but haven’t had anything so it’s a matter of trying to get on with daily life until we hear anything.

Oh right ok. Yeah it’s hard not to think about it. We didn’t get our ECO email for at least 2 weeks and that was on priority service. I’ve seen people who haven’t received it at all, so don’t worry. If you do want to find out though, you can call them and enquire status of application, they’ll only give you a very standard response ‘still undergoing checks’ or awaiting decision etc, but at least you’ll have peace of mind. Do bare in mind it costs about £1.37 per minute.

[ms1993]

This is so disappointing Fiffiadi - I’ve been looking out for your posts and will pray for you too, God willing.

Hey..

Yeah the wait is making me very anxious, I am extremely stressed out!
Thank you, please do keep us in your prayers. I will do the same.

When are your 30 days up?

I’m not surprised but InshaAllah it will be in your favour! We chose the standard service in the end so first week of December... I submitted everything by 19th Sept and now waiting on the ECO email but haven’t had anything so it’s a matter of trying to get on with daily life until we hear anything.

Oh right ok. Yeah it’s hard not to think about it. We didn’t get our ECO email for at least 2 weeks and that was on priority service. I’ve seen people who haven’t received it at all, so don’t worry. If you do want to find out though, you can call them and enquire status of application, they’ll only give you a very standard response ‘still undergoing checks’ or awaiting decision etc, but at least you’ll have peace of mind. Do bare in mind it costs about £1.37 per minute.

Yeah I gathered from many timelines that it’s usually 1-2 weeks but some people don’t even receive an email until 4-6 weeks in.

Thank you for the heads up about the contact but we know it will be generic responses. My husband and I have decided to just leave things be as they are and to carry on with daily life up until the decision is received

I left Pakistan in April so I’m sure another few months will fly by too

Hoping for the best

[Fififadi]

Hey..

Yeah the wait is making me very anxious, I am extremely stressed out!
Thank you, please do keep us in your prayers. I will do the same.

When are your 30 days up?

I’m not surprised but InshaAllah it will be in your favour! We chose the standard service in the end so first week of December... I submitted everything by 19th Sept and now waiting on the ECO email but haven’t had anything so it’s a matter of trying to get on with daily life until we hear anything.

Oh right ok. Yeah it’s hard not to think about it. We didn’t get our ECO email for at least 2 weeks and that was on priority service. I’ve seen people who haven’t received it at all, so don’t worry. If you do want to find out though, you can call them and enquire status of application, they’ll only give you a very standard response ‘still undergoing checks’ or awaiting decision etc, but at least you’ll have peace of mind. Do bare in mind it costs about £1.37 per minute.

Yeah I gathered from many timelines that it’s usually 1-2 weeks but some people don’t even receive an email until 4-6 weeks in.

Thank you for the heads up about the contact but we know it will be generic responses. My husband and I have decided to just leave things be as they are and to carry on with daily life up until the decision is received

I left Pakistan in April so I’m sure another few months will fly by too

Hoping for the best

I left in April too.. but it seems like a lifetime ago!

I’ve been told to leave it and see too, but I’m the least patient person ever. Lol

All the best!

[Mehar_11]

Hi, Hope it all works out for you. My husband is going to be leaving for entry clearance in a few weeks. He has overstayed for a few years. We did try from here but werent successful. Its a stressful situation to be in.

[Fififadi]

Hi, Hope it all works out for you. My husband is going to be leaving for entry clearance in a few weeks. He has overstayed for a few years. We did try from here but werent successful. Its a stressful situation to be in.

Thank you. I hope it all works out for you too.

It’s really the worst situation to be in. Where will you be applying from and will you be using the priority service too?

Are you all prepared with all the other paperwork?

[pinksunflower]

Wishing you the best Fififadi. Did you include a letter explaining the overstay? I’m going to have to do the same in the near future. I’d appreciate any tips you may have

[Mehar_11]

Hey thanks he will be applying from pakistan and will be via priority service. We do have all the papers ready they only thing im worried about is that he had some points on his driving license. Also they may question how we supported himself the time he overstayed which was a period of 2 years before he met me. Initially he came on a spouse visa bt his marriage ended.

[Fififadi]

Wishing you the best Fififadi. Did you include a letter explaining the overstay? I’m going to have to do the same in the near future. I’d appreciate any tips you may have

Thanks so much!
Yes, explained in cover letter briefly, but explained in the Application form with a little more detail. I did a cover letter as a sponsor but my husband also did one acknowledging his over staying, and explaining why this happened.

I would love to provide tips, but i have no idea how it will go just yet. Really hoping for a miracle.

[Fififadi]

Hey thanks he will be applying from pakistan and will be via priority service. We do have all the papers ready they only thing im worried about is that he had some points on his driving license. Also they may question how we supported himself the time he overstayed which was a period of 2 years before he met me. Initially he came on a spouse visa bt his marriage ended.

Yes, as far as i'm aware, it's not just about the overstaying itself, it's about whether they worked without right to work in the UK, whether they used NHS services, what they did during their period of overstaying.

I've seen some application on here that have been decided within priority service timelines despite previous overstay history - ours unfortunately hasn't met this timeline.

[pinksunflower]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your hubby. Wishing you a positive outcome. Please update us when you hear back. I’m going to be going through this spouse visa process in a few months. Really appreciate all the info shared on this board.

Wishing you the best Fififadi. Did you include a letter explaining the overstay? I’m going to have to do the same in the near future. I’d appreciate any tips you may have

Thanks so much!
Yes, explained in cover letter briefly, but explained in the Application form with a little more detail. I did a cover letter as a sponsor but my husband also did one acknowledging his over staying, and explaining why this happened.

I would love to provide tips, but i have no idea how it will go just yet. Really hoping for a miracle.

[spreekhan]

You will get visa no problems
Because he leave uk voluntary.
Not by public funds.
Did he buy his own ticket to go back.

If yes no problem.

You will get visa if you follow apendex fm .

Regards.

[Mehar_11]

My husband has had some clinic appointments at a hospital but was never asked to pay i’m worried this might go against him too

[Zerubbabel]

My husband has had some clinic appointments at a hospital but was never asked to pay i’m worried this might go against him too

It depends for what. If he went there because he suspected he has TB or HIV, that's fine. You can read this:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitle ... alth-guide

Access to other services, even if he wasn't asked to pay, is abuse of the NHS system and weights in decisions.

My wife was illegal. We went to the hospital one day because she was really ill. She spent the night there and was discharged later.

I wrote them a letter asking to pay because she is not entitled to free NHS. They sent me a £850 bill. I paid it. As that bill was paid, the fact that she used the NHS was never held against her.

[Fififadi]

You will get visa no problems
Because he leave uk voluntary.
Not by public funds.
Did he buy his own ticket to go back.

If yes no problem.

You will get visa if you follow apendex fm .

Regards.

Hi Spreekhan

Yes, he brought his own ticket to go back home.

I did apply via Appendix FM - thank you for your encouraging words.