Visitor visa rejections - things I have learnt so far

[Cankaya123]

Hi everyone this isn't directly relevant but I'm not sure where to post it. I want to share some tips and things we learnt the hard way when applying for my Turkish husband, which I don't think people should have to pay for to know. Disclaimer in case I misunderstood anything from what the lawyer told us but it gives pointers to do your own research on. Please share if you find it useful.
1. Although a UK visitor visa application does not allow for a review or appeal, you can have a judicial review. But you have to do this within three months of the rejection unless you have a very good reason. Your application has to have been watertight with no gaps and question marks to do this. Otherwise it can be a very costly process for nothing.
2. They don't tell you this but if someone has been rejected for a visitor visa before, they will almost definitely be rejected again. The only way to break this cycle is to start the judicial review process.
3. The "entry clearance office" processing the application *will* ignore photocopies of documents and claim you have submitted insufficient proof. You will have very little recourse for this. But what you must do is write in the typed up, e application everything you have submitted.
4. Even if you submit everything that is optional as well as the mandatory documents, they can still say you should have submitted something else. So if you have been rejected before and are applying with a view to go the judicial review route, submit things like photos as proof of your relationship, sponsor letters from the UK etc. EVERYTHING which comes to mind.
5. If you have a history of rejections, for a small fee you can get access to everything the Home Office has on your file. It's called a subject access request. In this way you can have a detailed history of what they have on you and can try to argue against their logic, if it can be called that. Unfortunately you cannot depend on this coming within the 40 working day limit set by the Home Office.
6. One final path for complaining is the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Doing this will not get the decision overturned but you might get a refund on the fee or an apology. Before doing this you must have exhausted the complaints procedure at the Home Office and have also asked them to review how your complaint was handled.

good luck