Applied for 10 year Visa was given 6 months no refund ?

[Lorie Walker]

Hi ..
I hope someone can help here . ? Its relatively simple and im told very very common ..

I'm a filipina applying for a UK visitors Visa .. My husband is British as are my 2 boys .. all hold UK passports
We live and work in the Philippines, we have our own house, land and 2 businesses.. My husbands parents are getting old, they are past 70 .. I applied for and got a 2 year visa 2 years ago so if we had any emergencies we were free to travel as a family to visit in-laws at any time in this 2 year period .. we visited twice in this period for 2 weeks each time. The visa expired this September so i applied for a new one . I noticed that there is a 10 year visa which cost quite a bit more but since we will be traveling regularly over the foreseeable future we felt it was worth the extra cost .. We were very diligent in making sure we fully complied with all of the requirements. we paid the 798 pound fee .. when the passport was returned they only gave us a 6 month visa.. i was told that if we were not granted the 10 year we could get the 5 year or the 2 year .. but we got 6 months .? so basically 705 pounds was simply wasted .. this surely can't be fair .? there must be some way we can ask to appeal or at least get a partial refund . minus admin costs of course . but to simply take 705 pounds without any explanation is clearly not right . recently i'm told this is usually and its a scam .. there was no intention to give a 10 year visa and we were actually lucky to get 6 months .. i'm not a negative person so i can't believe this .. Please please help if you know how we can appeal this .. I was given a site to appeal .. they are asking for 6 pounds just to send an email to ask for a reconsideration ( not refundable of course . )

[vinny]

Unfortunately, their current policy is :

Long-term visit visas (multiple entry)
...
Applicants for a long term visit visa must meet all the visitor rules relevant to their visit. You must then decide whether to issue the length of visit visa applied for.
...
Where the applicant meets the visitor rules, but does not show a need to visit the UK on a regular basis and therefore does not qualify for a long-term visit visa, you can issue a visit visa for up to 6 months. In such cases, no refund (full or partial) is available.

You must provide clear reasons for the decision to grant a visa for a shorter period than that applied for in a covering letter when the passport is returned.

Such an approach diminishes, rather than encourages, respect for the policy in question....

[bathanza]

It's all about the history and the cover letter. Going through potential dates and durations perhaps is good.

I wonder how people end up getting 10 year visitor visa when majority of the time travellers from non EEA countries come either at times of gathering, holidays or just when they can within the immigration guidelines. Feel really sad that you've lost out on a LOT of money for what could have been a lot less.

I've submitted my Mother in Law's visit visa for 2 years with very, very clear points as who why she needs a 2-year visit visa so hopefully can demonstrate what we need to do for this visa. It's either a waste of £400, a 6 month issue or a success, will keep board members updated.