Rejection for Absence of Criminal Cert

[sandfly80]

Hello. I have been living in the UK since 2015 with my two children who attend independent prep schools there.
I left the UK last week of April to make an application for a Tier 1 visa from Pakistan. I used a UK based solicitor to handle all my paperwork and since I had a very robust business plan, and the required funds has been held in my UK bank account for nearly a year we were very confident it will all go well.
I was interviewed by a Sheffield based ECO and he was very satisfied with everything. I even asked him for a quick turnaround because my children had by that time missed a week of school. During the hour long interview the ECO never raised any issues with the documentation presented with the application. It honestly seemed like he was ticking boxes and it was a shoo-in.
Anyway, shockingly I got a rejection. Despite the fact I had scored the maximum 95 points.
Reason given was: I had not submitted a criminal record check.
My solicitor has filed an AR. Basis for application: (a) when we applied for the visa the criminal record certificate was not a required document; that only became a requirement (according to my solicitor) on 4th May; and (b) based on HO rules 245DB(S) the ECO is supposed to ask for a police check in writing, if it hasn't been submitted, and give the applicant 28 days to provide one.
My questions are:
-Have any of you come across a situation like this before? and if so, was it resolved?
-How long, on average, do AR take to be resolved?
I am inclined to think that the UK isn't open to investment, not really. I am very happy to take my money elsewhere, the only reason why I am even bothering with the AR is that I have invested two years in market research and identifying the right people to partner with, and that by now my children are well settled at their schools.
Any thoughts appreciated>>>>>

[zimba]

The requirement to submit overseas criminal report has been in the rules since 1st September 2015 for all Tier 1E entry clearance applicants including their dependants I do not know what your solicitor is on about.

The Immigration rules Part 6A under 245DB(S), does NOT say that the decision maker MUST request such missing document. It simply gives the decision maker ONLY discretion to request the missing document:

(s) If the applicant has failed to provide a criminal record certificate or an explanation in accordance with sub-paragraph (r), the decision maker may contact the applicant or his representative in writing, and request the certificate(s) or explanation. The requested certificate(s) or explanation must be received at the address specified in the request within 28 calendar days of the date of the request.

[sandfly80]

@zimba88 thank you for taking the time to reply.

Since I had a solicitor handling the application for me I did not bother to read the fine print. An honest mistake, I was more focused on polishing out the business plan.

I have successfully got my local MP involved to support me. It seems quite illogical to refuse a sound investment from a person who is already bringing in significant money into the UK (children in prep schools, family home etc) on the basis of one missing document. Which IMO is rather peripheral to the investment case.

I have provided my police checks from all three countries I have resided in in the past ten years. I shall get on my solicitor's case as well.

[zimba]

Your solicitor is not responsible for your application's failure at the end of the day. However most of them seem to be quite inept in handling Tier 1E immigration cases and generally have poor knowledge of the rules. I suggest to go for AR however that could take several weeks.

[sandfly80]

I have to take a share of the blame in all honesty. I ought to have read the rules personally to make sure all the dots and dashes were there. But when you're paying a professional a royal ransom to handle things you do end up being complacent.

The solicitor applied for the AR on my behalf and since it is now obvious that she was arguing on non-existent grounds, its failure is guaranteed. I am not about to go through the hassle of a new application. Time to move on with life.

Wondering if I can warn people off of a certain Birmingham based law firm.........?

[zimba]

Well we do not allow names of firms or individuals here, but your case is not unique. Many members come to seek advice here after having been let down or mislead by inept solicitors. I guess its better to seek advice and get involved before it is too late.

[annoyedatukba]

@sandfly80

I am terribly sorry for what you have been going through. It is a complete roller coaster right I know.

I too am in a similar situation but at the extension stage, I invested the funds, hired the employees etc and was awarded the maximum score too. Extension was refused because one document was in the wrong format

All the required information was there, but document was not in a format that is acceptable to the HO. I went for AR - refused

I reformatted the document and sent in a fresh application last month and now I am waiting again. I just received a letter from the HO informing me that due to the "complex nature" of my application, it will take longer than 8 weeks to process!!! Not sure what i complex about it when it was awarded full points just a couple of months ago

I like you am starting to believe that the UK is not open for business and investments.

[sandfly80]

Good grief, you must be absolutely livid!

Its so not worth it anymore. We pulled the plug on the whole thing today. I simply cannot invest anymore of my time, energy, and money into a fruitless venture. I don't have any faith in the 'system' anymore: you play by the rules but still lose out. A £200k investment in another country will get you much better returns and I am pretty sure one will be made to feel a lot more welcome.

I do feel for you. Its a cautionary tale. You have put in so much time and effort and to fall at the last hurdle over something as silly as a document format! Good luck, I do hope it all gets sorted for you.

[annoyedatukba]

I am going stir crazy to say the least.

I feel that there is a massive problem in the way this particular visa is being processed. While I do agree that a lot of people abuse this route and they need to be stringent in assessing applications, they must also not penalise people like you and me over such trivial matters.

I wish you luck with your business wherever choose to set it up and sorry that you have to go through the market research portion of it all over again for another market.

[zimba]

Immigration rules are generic and interpreted impersonally. If you fail to submit the required document your application will be refused, no matter what are the circumstances. UK is not that different to any other country, I know many countries that are horribly worse. It is up to you to make sure that things are correct and in proper order.
As far as I can see, in both your cases the refusals were due to failure to submit the required documents which are clearly stated in the guide/rules/forms and the fact that you relied on the advice of inept advisors.