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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2013/jan/24/uk-border-agency-your-stories
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| UK Border Agency - your stories | UK Border Agency - your stories |
| (7 days later) | |
| While the UK Border Agency seeks to deal with a 10-year backlog of applications from migrants for permission to stay in Britain, Guardian readers have been sharing their stories of frustration and incompetence when it comes to seeking visas for partners and spouses. | While the UK Border Agency seeks to deal with a 10-year backlog of applications from migrants for permission to stay in Britain, Guardian readers have been sharing their stories of frustration and incompetence when it comes to seeking visas for partners and spouses. |
| You can read more of the experiences and add your own in a comment here. | You can read more of the experiences and add your own in a comment here. |
| Kristian Harland: | Kristian Harland: |
| I am British and my partner is from SE Asia. My partner and I are married. We applied for an extension to our visa known as an FLR(M) in April 2012 to grant further leave to remain at a cost of over £600. This should be a straight forward process as my partner is already in the country and this is the second visa we have applied for. The UK Border Agency in Sheffield has still not processed the visa and they will not indicate when they might process it. All this while, my partner and I cannot travel. Incompetent, money grabbing morons. They are what give public servants a bad name. | I am British and my partner is from SE Asia. My partner and I are married. We applied for an extension to our visa known as an FLR(M) in April 2012 to grant further leave to remain at a cost of over £600. This should be a straight forward process as my partner is already in the country and this is the second visa we have applied for. The UK Border Agency in Sheffield has still not processed the visa and they will not indicate when they might process it. All this while, my partner and I cannot travel. Incompetent, money grabbing morons. They are what give public servants a bad name. |
| luckyjinx writes: | luckyjinx writes: |
| I'm looking forward to reading Mr Vine's full report on the marriage visa situation. I'm an American FLR(M) applicant who has been waiting for 6.5 months to receive an answer on a straightforward, pre-July 9, application. The UKBA tell you to call their silly Immigrations Enquiry Bureau for information on your case, but only after you have passed 6 months waiting. What do they tell you when you call this 0870 number? "Nobody has looked at your case, there is nothing more we can tell you, and you must continue to wait." Your passport goes with your application and no passport = no legal ID and no travel, nevermind if you have a death in the family or whatever other reasons you may need to travel. I'm happy to play by the rules and wait my turn, but I've paid £600 plus my UK tax on income for this "service" and am utterly fed up. It used to average 14 weeks start to finish. Now people are waiting up to 10 months in many cases. I just want the right to live with my British husband in the UK, and then to go and visit my family who I have not seen in almost a year. | I'm looking forward to reading Mr Vine's full report on the marriage visa situation. I'm an American FLR(M) applicant who has been waiting for 6.5 months to receive an answer on a straightforward, pre-July 9, application. The UKBA tell you to call their silly Immigrations Enquiry Bureau for information on your case, but only after you have passed 6 months waiting. What do they tell you when you call this 0870 number? "Nobody has looked at your case, there is nothing more we can tell you, and you must continue to wait." Your passport goes with your application and no passport = no legal ID and no travel, nevermind if you have a death in the family or whatever other reasons you may need to travel. I'm happy to play by the rules and wait my turn, but I've paid £600 plus my UK tax on income for this "service" and am utterly fed up. It used to average 14 weeks start to finish. Now people are waiting up to 10 months in many cases. I just want the right to live with my British husband in the UK, and then to go and visit my family who I have not seen in almost a year. |
| efmcandrew: | efmcandrew: |
| The petition below may interest you, as a British person with an overseas partner wanting a visa. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/34835 | The petition below may interest you, as a British person with an overseas partner wanting a visa. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/34835 |
| Essentially, if you were from any part of the EU and wanted a visa for your spouse to live and work in Britain, you could get it automatically. Under the regulations of individual EU countries, if a national of those countries marries a person from outside the EU, then the spouse automatically acquires their nationality - and therefore the automatic right to live and work in the UK. My niece is in Sydney. She met her Australian boyfriend in the UK where he was working. He could not obtain an extension on his two-year visa though he was in a well-paid job that could not be filled locally (as a surveyor). She then went on an under-26 visa to work in Australia, which was extended. They got married and have a two year old daughter and they have lived together in Australia since 2005. She was planning to return this year or next but suddenly all the regulations changed in July. They now have to have over £60K in savings, and she has to have a permanent job (with a two-year old child?) with a certain income whilst his income cannot be taken into account, and they have to have a home here which cannot be bought taking his income into account. Yet, if she had been born in any part of Europe, he could come here tomorrow without a penny or a job or a home. Many of her friends are in the same boat and one of them drew up this petition. | Essentially, if you were from any part of the EU and wanted a visa for your spouse to live and work in Britain, you could get it automatically. Under the regulations of individual EU countries, if a national of those countries marries a person from outside the EU, then the spouse automatically acquires their nationality - and therefore the automatic right to live and work in the UK. My niece is in Sydney. She met her Australian boyfriend in the UK where he was working. He could not obtain an extension on his two-year visa though he was in a well-paid job that could not be filled locally (as a surveyor). She then went on an under-26 visa to work in Australia, which was extended. They got married and have a two year old daughter and they have lived together in Australia since 2005. She was planning to return this year or next but suddenly all the regulations changed in July. They now have to have over £60K in savings, and she has to have a permanent job (with a two-year old child?) with a certain income whilst his income cannot be taken into account, and they have to have a home here which cannot be bought taking his income into account. Yet, if she had been born in any part of Europe, he could come here tomorrow without a penny or a job or a home. Many of her friends are in the same boat and one of them drew up this petition. |
| Abertawe: | Abertawe: |
Trying to get my Australian partner leave to remain in the UK was the most soul-destroying experience either of us had ever been through, involving countless visits (and endless queues) at shabby government offices and repeatedly postponed dates for hearings and appeals over a period of four years. At times we were driven to tears of sheer frustration. | Trying to get my Australian partner leave to remain in the UK was the most soul-destroying experience either of us had ever been through, involving countless visits (and endless queues) at shabby government offices and repeatedly postponed dates for hearings and appeals over a period of four years. At times we were driven to tears of sheer frustration. |
| Eventually, we took all the paperwork to the British embassy in Canberra, who dealt with it (and approved the application) in two weeks. | Eventually, we took all the paperwork to the British embassy in Canberra, who dealt with it (and approved the application) in two weeks. |
| Peter Bellamy: | Peter Bellamy: |
| I'm British. I've worked in the US for a multinational for 6 years and Married and American. We have a two year old Son. I decided to take a year off to be with my Son and decided to do a Masters degree in the UK where we have a home. I'm half way through the degree and My wife and Son have been rejected by UKBA. They sit in the US waiting... We now pay through the nose for 'express processing' as this is urgent - My Son gets older everyday - I've now missed his Birthday and Christmas was a Skype video call. We fill out ludicrous forms and when I asked the Welsh Secretary (My MP) for his views His advise was to get a lawyer! I seriously think the UKBA should be ashamed. They make the process awful, go after easy targets and discourage high earning tax payers with no interest in benefits. As for incompetence you can't appeal as you need to resubmit your original documents. - which of course they didn't return with our rejection letter | I'm British. I've worked in the US for a multinational for 6 years and Married and American. We have a two year old Son. I decided to take a year off to be with my Son and decided to do a Masters degree in the UK where we have a home. I'm half way through the degree and My wife and Son have been rejected by UKBA. They sit in the US waiting... We now pay through the nose for 'express processing' as this is urgent - My Son gets older everyday - I've now missed his Birthday and Christmas was a Skype video call. We fill out ludicrous forms and when I asked the Welsh Secretary (My MP) for his views His advise was to get a lawyer! I seriously think the UKBA should be ashamed. They make the process awful, go after easy targets and discourage high earning tax payers with no interest in benefits. As for incompetence you can't appeal as you need to resubmit your original documents. - which of course they didn't return with our rejection letter |
| nickwecreate: | nickwecreate: |
| We are in a similar situation. American wife. Applied to extend in May from a fiancee visa (which was approved quickly in the USA). And nothing - not even a letter. Have complained to my MP and the Minister for Immigration. Nobody cares. We have had a baby in the interim and his sick grandmother in California has not met him yet (she cannot visit here due to health reasons). My wife's grandma died 6 weeks ago and she could not go home to the funeral or to grieve with her family. We sent in the death certifacte to get our case expedited (as our MP and the BA said to do) and they wrote back to say basically 'tough luck - wait in the queue'. I believe that the system as it is - when they do not tell you when you will hear back so you wait for months in limbo without the ability to leave the country or even open a bank account - is contravening the European Human Rights legislation, particularly the right to family. Even my immigration lawyer can do nothing. All we have been offered is to withdraw the application (thus wasting the 2nd £600 fee in 12 months), and then she has to go to the US and then reapply (and repay of course) and wait there with our baby until they can issue her leave to remain. I was born in the UK. My son was born in the UK. We have a comfortable income. This application should take minutes. The amount of stress and heartache this causes is immeasurable and the government and the Border Agency really do not care. I am just to glad that someone has oversight at last and can see it for what it is - gross injustice. We have paid handsomely for a terrible service - something this government is supposed to find unacceptable in the age of 'choice'. Well, it is technically not really a service at all as there has been no action on our case. The only way to go apparently is to pay for premium processing (so yes, a two tier service) - but we had no idea that when they say it will be done within 6 months for normal processing that it is 'a goal' not a commitment / requirement and that they have no legal necessity to get back to immigrants at all. Imagine how many people have been effected over the years, without a voice. But because they are immigrants the government seems to think they have no right to be treated with respect for their life and the lives of their kids and families. How we can enter the 21st Century of globalised knowledge and distributed intelligence with such disrespect for others and ignorance about how to perform at an international level is truly sad. | We are in a similar situation. American wife. Applied to extend in May from a fiancee visa (which was approved quickly in the USA). And nothing - not even a letter. Have complained to my MP and the Minister for Immigration. Nobody cares. We have had a baby in the interim and his sick grandmother in California has not met him yet (she cannot visit here due to health reasons). My wife's grandma died 6 weeks ago and she could not go home to the funeral or to grieve with her family. We sent in the death certifacte to get our case expedited (as our MP and the BA said to do) and they wrote back to say basically 'tough luck - wait in the queue'. I believe that the system as it is - when they do not tell you when you will hear back so you wait for months in limbo without the ability to leave the country or even open a bank account - is contravening the European Human Rights legislation, particularly the right to family. Even my immigration lawyer can do nothing. All we have been offered is to withdraw the application (thus wasting the 2nd £600 fee in 12 months), and then she has to go to the US and then reapply (and repay of course) and wait there with our baby until they can issue her leave to remain. I was born in the UK. My son was born in the UK. We have a comfortable income. This application should take minutes. The amount of stress and heartache this causes is immeasurable and the government and the Border Agency really do not care. I am just to glad that someone has oversight at last and can see it for what it is - gross injustice. We have paid handsomely for a terrible service - something this government is supposed to find unacceptable in the age of 'choice'. Well, it is technically not really a service at all as there has been no action on our case. The only way to go apparently is to pay for premium processing (so yes, a two tier service) - but we had no idea that when they say it will be done within 6 months for normal processing that it is 'a goal' not a commitment / requirement and that they have no legal necessity to get back to immigrants at all. Imagine how many people have been effected over the years, without a voice. But because they are immigrants the government seems to think they have no right to be treated with respect for their life and the lives of their kids and families. How we can enter the 21st Century of globalised knowledge and distributed intelligence with such disrespect for others and ignorance about how to perform at an international level is truly sad. |
| EastBroadway: | EastBroadway: |
| I can share the frustration of others writing here. I'm a US citizen, married to a UK citizen, and a recent first time mother. I sent in my application for indefinite leave to remain in early August. I've worked here full-time for over five years, paying full income taxes for the entire time. I applied as a work permit holder instead of spouse, but I could have qualified for either. I'm still waiting nearly six months later. Meanwhile my father is in the hospital and doesn't have long to live. This is his first and only grandchild, and he has precious little time to know him. I wrote to the UKBA to explain, and had my father's doctor in the US fax a letter as instructed. That was three months ago. Nothing. Not one word from UKBA. I've missed several important work related meetings abroad. I have an important one coming up in February where I'm the only one at work who has the necessary knowledge. My employer wrote a letter to UKBA explaining I need my passport. Nothing. Even though the UKBA says that this is grounds for speeding up the process. We sent another asking them to at least tell us whether there was a chance of getting my passport back, so that we could make other arrangements. Still nothing. When you call UKBA and get to a human being they keep saying they have no more information than you do. It's a disgrace that they treat people like this. And I know that I'm probably luckier than thousands whose circumstances are much more difficult than mine. | I can share the frustration of others writing here. I'm a US citizen, married to a UK citizen, and a recent first time mother. I sent in my application for indefinite leave to remain in early August. I've worked here full-time for over five years, paying full income taxes for the entire time. I applied as a work permit holder instead of spouse, but I could have qualified for either. I'm still waiting nearly six months later. Meanwhile my father is in the hospital and doesn't have long to live. This is his first and only grandchild, and he has precious little time to know him. I wrote to the UKBA to explain, and had my father's doctor in the US fax a letter as instructed. That was three months ago. Nothing. Not one word from UKBA. I've missed several important work related meetings abroad. I have an important one coming up in February where I'm the only one at work who has the necessary knowledge. My employer wrote a letter to UKBA explaining I need my passport. Nothing. Even though the UKBA says that this is grounds for speeding up the process. We sent another asking them to at least tell us whether there was a chance of getting my passport back, so that we could make other arrangements. Still nothing. When you call UKBA and get to a human being they keep saying they have no more information than you do. It's a disgrace that they treat people like this. And I know that I'm probably luckier than thousands whose circumstances are much more difficult than mine. |
| getoffmyland: | getoffmyland: |
| The sheer frustration of those caught up in this absolute mess is appalling. Quite simply, UKBA is not fit for purpose. My own family's situation echoes those above - but perhaps even more farcically - my wife - who has lived in the UK, with me, for most of her adult life has been granted Leave to Remain based on Ancestry - 3 times before and ILR once before. We left the country for a few years so her ILR lapsed, we came back and she was, of course, granted LR again. She applied for a simple renewal again last year (given the mess at UKBA we decided that a renewal was more straightforward than changing to ILR (M). She applied 12 months ago, we heard nothing back for a yea , despite pleas for a progress report through our MP. We then were told after 13 months that my wife had been refused her renewal with no basis for appeal. We have two British Children, born and brought up here in the UK. Of course the decision is not just nonsensical, it is unlawful under section 8 of the European Human rights Act and Section 55 of UKBAs own code of conduct. However, try even getting someone to enter into a conversation with you at UKBA - it is an absolute disgrace. My MPs letters have been ignored, my solicitors letters have been ignored. to the person who suggested 'turning up at a UKBA office and demanding your passport back'... the idea is simply laughable. No-one has any idea where my wife's passport is, and if they do, they certainly would not deign to tell us, mere UK taxpayers. I consider myself to be lucky - we can just about afford to pay for a judicial review (albeit of course the money would be better spent on something else) and if we end up having to move back to her country - well, actually - if this is going to be what it means to be a UK citizen... then perhaps it is time to go and pay our taxes in a country that treats us with respect. Unfortunately, we own and run a company here which employs 20 people and if we leave - I would have to shut that down - making 20 good hardworking people redundant... and all because of the incompetence at UKBA. I have just heard Mark Harper - immigration minister - on the radio - and his arrogance is astounding. Not one ounce of culpability... the same old mantra - 'we inherited this'... . Mark, its been two and half years. The fact that you will not admit to failing in your provision of this service means you will be unable to fix it. Please at least admit there is a problem. | The sheer frustration of those caught up in this absolute mess is appalling. Quite simply, UKBA is not fit for purpose. My own family's situation echoes those above - but perhaps even more farcically - my wife - who has lived in the UK, with me, for most of her adult life has been granted Leave to Remain based on Ancestry - 3 times before and ILR once before. We left the country for a few years so her ILR lapsed, we came back and she was, of course, granted LR again. She applied for a simple renewal again last year (given the mess at UKBA we decided that a renewal was more straightforward than changing to ILR (M). She applied 12 months ago, we heard nothing back for a yea , despite pleas for a progress report through our MP. We then were told after 13 months that my wife had been refused her renewal with no basis for appeal. We have two British Children, born and brought up here in the UK. Of course the decision is not just nonsensical, it is unlawful under section 8 of the European Human rights Act and Section 55 of UKBAs own code of conduct. However, try even getting someone to enter into a conversation with you at UKBA - it is an absolute disgrace. My MPs letters have been ignored, my solicitors letters have been ignored. to the person who suggested 'turning up at a UKBA office and demanding your passport back'... the idea is simply laughable. No-one has any idea where my wife's passport is, and if they do, they certainly would not deign to tell us, mere UK taxpayers. I consider myself to be lucky - we can just about afford to pay for a judicial review (albeit of course the money would be better spent on something else) and if we end up having to move back to her country - well, actually - if this is going to be what it means to be a UK citizen... then perhaps it is time to go and pay our taxes in a country that treats us with respect. Unfortunately, we own and run a company here which employs 20 people and if we leave - I would have to shut that down - making 20 good hardworking people redundant... and all because of the incompetence at UKBA. I have just heard Mark Harper - immigration minister - on the radio - and his arrogance is astounding. Not one ounce of culpability... the same old mantra - 'we inherited this'... . Mark, its been two and half years. The fact that you will not admit to failing in your provision of this service means you will be unable to fix it. Please at least admit there is a problem. |
Thanks for all your comments so far. | Thanks for all your comments so far. |
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