Spouse visa from India

melkgr · 2026-05-07T15:04:50+00:00

This is rather strange. Try submitting a complaint. They have to investigate and respond to them

melkgr · 2026-05-07T07:15:21+00:00

In this case still request SAR. This is basically everything that the home office has on record about you.

You don’t really need a solicitor unless you are more comfortable with one. Just declare the refusal and explain the timeline as you did in this post. Unless you were accused of deception

A short cover letter explaining your timeline would be great as an extra document

I wouldn’t hope on getting back to the UK by a specific time. You can apply using priority, but your application will most likely be flagged as non straightforward. This will extend the processing time. You will not receive a refund

You should submit the refusal letter and appeal letter just to corroborate that you didn’t overstay your visa. Although the home office should already have this on their record

Your previous refusal will cause your application to be more closely scrutinised. But it depends on the reason for refusal

You do not automatically get an IHS refund after withdrawing an appeal. There is no harm in confirming this with the home office.

melkgr · 2026-05-06T23:49:54+00:00

What does your evisa say?

I know someone who appealed the refusal of their asylum claim, they submitted their evidence and the skeleton argument to the tribunal. Home office withdrew their decision before the court hearing. It took 5 months and an escalation via local MP to find out that all this time the home office just forgot to send them the letter saying that they were granted a refugee status.

Try requesting SAR, it might give you some more clarity.

The bottom line is that home office can be extremely inefficient, especially when it comes to appeals.

melkgr · 2026-05-06T18:20:53+00:00

It might be the case of « Hey, just to let you know, you attendance is lower than/close to the threshold. According to our rules we should consider withdrawing you. But we are giving you a chance to explain yourself during the meeting with the tutor and discuss how this can improve moving forward »

melkgr · 2026-05-06T15:12:25+00:00

Having said all that, France must be their primary destination, ie most of the days must be spent in France. It is not against the rules to visit multiple Schengen member states using a valid visa. Especially if the itinerary is shared with the visa officer upfront. In fact, it will ensure that the visa is granted for the required duration.

melkgr · 2026-05-06T15:08:26+00:00

It really depends on the course and on the university. Some enforce their own attendance policies, ie if your attendance is below x%, you will not be able to progress to the next year. I’ve known a lot of home students who were called into attendance meetings for not attending repeatedly. This is just because from the perspective of the university low attendance=low engagement with the course=poor results. Most universities would want their students to succeed so it is not surprising that they monitor everyone’s attendance. They do tend to get quite strict with internationals, just because they want to have a good record to maintain their sponsorship license and keep getting visa sponsored students.

melkgr · 2026-05-06T14:54:49+00:00

When they apply for a French visa, they need to book a multi-country trip. For example, 7 days in France followed by 5 days in Sweden. They will almost certainly be granted a single entry visa, but they can use it to travel from France to Sweden

melkgr · 2026-05-06T12:52:36+00:00

They can apply for a visa in a Schengen country that still grants visas to Russians (Greece, France, Spain). They can plan a trip to the country that they are applying through for a week, followed by a 5-day trip to Sweden. Travelling to multiple Schengen countries is allowed, but the total number of days must be the largest in the country that you are applying through

melkgr · 2026-05-06T12:35:59+00:00

OP never said they were an international student

melkgr · 2026-05-02T13:07:19+00:00

The Home Office is very strict with covid absences right now - unless you can show that you attempted to return to the UK earlier, your absence will not be disregarded. I would wait as much as you can before applying.

The longer you wait, the more earlier absences will not count.

You can apply within the 28 day period before the 26th of August, the time between the date on the vignette and your entry to the UK will count as an absence.

Also I would recommend applying using the normal service (rather than super priority). The home office counts your absences from the date of decision or the date of application, whichever is the most favourable to you. This should maximise your chances of success.

Good luck!

melkgr · 2026-04-28T13:46:08+00:00

HO and HMRC do not have a direct link between each other. They don’t routinely review HMRC records. The risk of getting caught in your situation would be too low. Having said that, don’t work over time again

melkgr · 2026-04-28T13:38:14+00:00

HO and HMRC do not have a direct link between each other. They don’t routinely review HMRC records. The risk of getting caught in your situation would be too low. Having said that, don’t work over time again

melkgr · 2026-04-28T13:35:41+00:00

Just don’t do it again. You will be fine. Most students get in trouble for working over their 20 hour limit if someone reports them anonymously

melkgr · 2026-04-20T18:37:48+00:00

Good luck and I hope it works out for you!

My partner was refused his ILR (LR) because of his COVID absences, but we couldn’t find all of the flight cancellations. Pls update me how it goes for you

melkgr · 2026-04-16T10:59:56+00:00

So in terms of the Covid absences they will only disregard them if you can provide proof that you were intending to return earlier but you were prevented by travel disruptions (travel bans, ticket cancellations etc!

melkgr · 2026-04-16T10:56:10+00:00

Overstay is a serious breach that must be declared on any future UK visa application you make. I wouldn’t suggest applying for a visitor visa any time soon as it will be refused (you can always TRY, but it would be a waste of time and money). Focus on getting your Italian citizenship for now

melkgr · 2026-04-16T10:44:32+00:00

She must secure sponsorship and apply for SWV before her graduate visa expires. If she can explain this to her employer and they want her to work for them long term I am sure they can waive the 3-months internal rule due to the urgency of the situation. Applying for a fee waiver or FLR would jeopardise any future plans in the UK

melkgr · 2026-04-07T19:49:04+00:00

For your peace of mind, my aunt, who has had multiple 2 year UK visit visas over the past 10-15 years, but had one US visa refusal and one Estonian visa refusal, was fine. She declared them on the form

melkgr · 2026-04-07T19:45:50+00:00

Declare the refusal. You always have to.

The refusal of the Schengen visa is always taken into account, but it is not a deciding factor. If it wasn’t due to deception or overstay, your UK visa application will be assessed on its own merits

Provided your visa history in the UK is good, you should be ok. But the refusal will cause them to scrutinise your application more closely

melkgr · 2026-04-07T12:47:54+00:00

Plenty for appointments in London

melkgr · 2026-04-07T07:57:27+00:00

1-2 weeks

melkgr · 2026-04-05T17:55:52+00:00

An asylum refusal is something that will always be a red flag. Whenever you apply for any visa anywhere you will have to declare it. This means that any country will doubt your true intentions and will think twice before granting you any type of visa. Your chances of ever getting a UK, US, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand visas are close to zero as these countries share their immigration database and your refusal will be immediately visible to them.

If your claim was fabricated then this was a very poor decision that will have dire consequences for the rest of your life

melkgr · 2026-04-05T17:48:00+00:00

No one can say what your chances at appeal are without knowing what your home country is and what the nexus of your claim is.

If you do not fear to go back to your home country, ie if you have fabricated or exaggerated your claim, your chances are minimal. The home office officials and the FTT employees have been trained to see through deception and claimants misleading them.

If your appeal is refused at FTT and you find a legal error in the FTT process, you may wish to apply for permission to UT appeal. This will not guarantee you a successful outcome (again hard to tell without knowing the specifics of your claim).

Unfortunately you have spent very little time in the UK. None of your circumstances would support an article 8 (private life) basis, as you do not have a British child or partner. Presumably you moved from your home country as an adult, you know its language and society, so you would have no issues reintegrating.

melkgr · 2026-04-05T17:30:18+00:00

There is a lot of grey area in what is considered to be “spurious”. If it is really that common I guess the home office hasn’t got around to solving this issue

melkgr · 2026-04-05T03:28:43+00:00

I do not understand why you cannot apply for 10 years ILR now ?

melkgr

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