Total number of spouse visas processed and refused by selected nationalities, 2016

Author : Steve

A while back I made this Freedom of Information request in response to an online discussion, as I was curious about numbers of rates of refusals for a balanced selection of different nationalities, including some of the most common countries for foreign spouses. The text of the request is here :

I would like to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act.

1. Total number of spouse visa applications processed for the following nationalities from January 1 2016 to 31 December 2016 : 
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United States

2. Total number of refusals for spouse visa applications processed for the following nationalities from January 1 2016 to 31 December 2016 : 
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United States

This was for a whole year, to even out anomalies such as local holidays. The response is in (see link above) and includes data per quarter, with information about applications made, processed, refused, withdrawn, and lapsed.

The table below shows the numbers of refusals divided by the number of applications over the whole year, followed by a percentage of refusals/applications. Note this comes with a few caveats, e.g. withdrawals and lapses are included in the total so don't assume that every visa not refused was processed; however the numbers for withdrawals and lapses are very low and wouldn't make much difference to the overall figures even if excluded. Note also that an application made in 2015 or 2016 may not be processed until 2016 or 2017.

These are included without comment as there is likely more than one reason for the differences. However the results are enlightening and seem to match the lived experience of both BritCits members and members of other online support groups and forums.

Country Refused/Total = Percentage (2016)
Japan 17/272 = 6.3%
Argentina 4/42 = 9.6%
Australia 93/881 = 10.6%
SouthAfrica 99/834 = 11.9%
Russia 70/582 = 12.0%
Canada 73/517 = 14.1%
USA 371/2544 = 14.6%
Brazil 76/480 = 15.8%
Mexico 28/175 = 16.0%
China 222/1071 = 20.7%
Israel 19/87 = 21.8%
Thailand 242/1094 = 22.1%
Turkey 176/787 = 22.4%
Egypt 102/338 = 30.2%
India 1236/3888 = 31.8%
Pakistan 3032/7472 = 40.6%
Nigeria 555/1131 = 49.1%

Note to the reader : You can make your own FOI request at whatdotheyknow.com, and I think an FOI request is something everybody should do at least once in their lives.

After 20 years of marriage, wife from Bristol now faces deportation

Source :Bristol Post

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/20-years-marriage-wife-faces-deportation/story-23169702-detail/story.html

'Mr Draper, 59, a property developer, said: "After more than a year of visa negotiations involving lawyers and wranglings with the court, our faith in the immigration system has been totally destroyed. We don't know why Mae wasn't given a one-on-one interview at the time of applying, in which our circumstances could have been explained properly, instead of forms containing tick boxes.

"Mae is a trained midwife and wants to work and live in this country but is being denied that opportunity, despite us having been married for nearly 20 years.

"The UK Border Agency should not be using immigration rules in this way, to keep a decent hard-working family apart."

Don't take my mum away, Hanham teenager begs immigration authorities : http://theweekin.co.uk/uncategorized/dont-take-mum-away-hanham-teenager-begs-immigration-authorities/

'A DVD highlighting the Save Mae Campaign has been produced, in which the couple’s 14-year-old daughter Rhian, a student at the John Cabot Academy in Kingswood, pleads with the immigration authorities not to take her mum away, saying: “My family is being torn apart by the UK Government.” '

Aldeburgh: Support grows for teacher and his Russian wife split by visa row

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/politics/aldeburgh_support_grows_for_teacher_and_his_russian_wife_split_by_visa_row_1_3533389

'Support is mounting for a teacher’s battle with immigration officials to reunite his family at their Suffolk home.

'Yesterday, this paper reported Charles Tait’s bid to convince the Government to allow his Russian wife, Eugenia, back into the UK after she was twice denied entry on a visitor’s visa.

'Since then, supporters of the Taits’ plight have added their signatures to an online petition, while an offer of legal assistance has come from a London immigration lawyer.

Ed & Anya

“I will exercise my treaty rights in order to live with my wife – a right denied to me by my own government.”

Ed is a British citizen from Scotland, married to Anya, from Russia. They met in their early twenties while studying at Edinburgh University in 2004, when they were both selected for a student-run charity project helping a community in Manzini, Swaziland, build a soup kitchen. Not unlike many international couples, their love was kindled in a shared experience of travel and living away from home which has continued ever since.

They lived together back in Scotland, finding employment near Edinburgh after graduation in 2007. Before long, a job opportunity for Anya took them on more overseas adventures to Azerbaijan and then Nigeria. Juggling individual visa restrictions gave them their first experience of forced separation and relationship-by-Skype: traumatic, tiring and unsustainable for more than a short time.

Luckily, Anya's job in microfinance also gave them the chance to save enough money to fulfil a dream they'd both had since before they even met: a longdistance bicycle ride.

In May 2010 a group of friends and family cycled with Ed and Anya to the boundary of their hometown in Scotland, waving the pair off on a journey that would last over a year. They explored Scotland's border uplands, west coast and islands, before heading to France. They followed rivers and canals to Switzerland and pedalled to over 2000 metres of altitude to cross the Alps into Italy.

Facing the expiry of a Schengen visa, they took a cargo ship to Turkey, which marked the beginning of an Eastern world of hospitality, history, food and natural beauty unlike anywhere else.

Their route along the Mediterranean coast took them into then-peaceful Syria and on to Lebanon, and then back into Syria, where they overwintered in a desert monastery near Damascus, working in return for food, board, and the nourishment of community. In early 2011 they set off across the Syrian desert, crossing back into Turkey just before the start of protests in Syria. Reaching the Black Sea, they steered right and continued into Georgia and Azerbaijan, finally ending their journey at the Caspian Sea in June 2011.

With her last UK visa long expired, Anya had to return to Russia; unable to get a Russian visa away from home, Ed returned to Scotland. Ironically, it was only by staying on the road through 11 different countries that the two managed to avoid separation for so long. But now they had no choice.

They decided to make Russia their home for a while; Ed wanted to learn the language, and Anya wanted to be near her family. Already trained as an EFL teacher, in winter 2011 Ed landed a great job in Moscow which also gave him time to study Russian and pursue other work opportunities although he now is a self-employed copy editor now. Anya worked at the British Embassy before leaving it to write for an English-language newspaper and take some distance-learning courses from SOAS in London. After the constant uncertainties of the bicycle tour, settled life in the big city held appeal - for a while.

Russian bureaucracy is infamously slow and labyrinthine, but the pair knew there would be benefits if they got married: Ed could apply for temporary residency in Russia and so no longer be tied to any particular employer. They also naturally assumed that being married would make returning to the UK pretty straightforward when the time came. After all, if you're married, you're family - right?

So the process of gaining temporary residency started with Ed and Anya's wedding in August 2012.

The day itself was pure fun. The newlyweds rode bicycles from the registry office to the reception and danced the night away to ragtime and swing, surrounded by their new families. But despite a materially comfortable life and supportive family nearby, life in Moscow started to take its toll. It seemed a metropolis worn down by social inequality, ingrained distrust, and an entrenched car culture.

Anya and Ed missed their friends and family back in the UK, and longed to live a more outdoor life again.

While looking at the procedure for returning to the UK, they heard about Theresa May's new familyimmigration rules, which effectively prohibit them from returning directly. How does the state have the right to do this? Isn't it a citizen's right to marry whomever they choose and live in their own country?

Ed finally gained temporary residency in Russia in July 2013. But by this time, he and Anya realised their best option was to take the Surinder Singh route, probably via Ireland, in autumn or winter 2013.

Exercising treaty rights is something they can do as they don’t have careers in the UK which would be disrupted, and no children to have to look after.

They are looking forward to the adventure of the next half year, while remaining anxious to get it over with; they worry that the route will rapidly become more difficult, with more applications being rejected by the UKBA on spurious grounds in order to force appeals and test the law.

However, Ed remains positive and feels lucky to be able to exercise rights afforded to him by the EU – rights to a family life denied to him by his own government.

More stories like this : http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/stories

A video on exercising Surinder Singh rights : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-v0cV2Y8E

Oksana

“I am my mother’s only child, my children her only grandkids. Yet a government official tells us she cannot even come for a visit.”

Oksana is a British citizen who moved to the UK 13 years ago, after meeting her husband, with whom she now has two kids. She lives near Edinburgh, in Scotland.

Her mum is 64 years old, and living alone in Russia. Her only child is Oksana. Her only grandchildren are Oksana’s two children. This is a family very attached to each other. Oksana’s mum has visited the UK in the past, allowing for the much valued bonding between grandparent and grandkids. However, it’s been over six years since she was last here, as the travelling and visa process have become too difficult.

Oksana is a full-time mum. She doesn’t work – her husband works full time, earning enough to maintain the family and ensure they have no need to claim any benefits.

It involves a nine hour flight to Moscow, for the visa application. There is no British visa centre in Oksana’s mum’s home city and the application must be made in person, not by post. She would then need to remain in Moscow for however long it takes for the visa to be issued.

In 2013 Oksana’s mum applied for a family visit visa. However the visa was refused on the grounds of insufficient documentation of their financial situation.

The family is bemused and dismayed. A simple family visit visa has been refused after an onerous process, yet six years ago it was issued in one day. It’s heart wrenching when a government official is able to tell you that your close relatives are not even allowed to visit you.

The family has decided they would now prefer to apply for a settlement visa to avoid any future visa hassles. This also alleviates issues likely to arise in the future given Oksana will need to be there to look after her mum on a daily basis, and travelling becomes more difficult with the process of ageing.

Oksana lives in a large home where her mum would have her own bedroom. Her mum’s pension from Russia could be transferred to the UK. The family is happy to purchase private health insurance and also sign a guarantee that there will not be any need to access benefits. Her mum speaks decent English and has made lots of friends on her earlier visits, so integration is not a problem either.

Lionel, redux

Via Facebook :
Rather than add to a very long thread ... I thought I would post separately. After many emails to German consulate in Kaliningrad, German ministry of Foreign affairs, German ministry of internal affairs, Solvit and your Europe my wife today received a call to tell her a Schengen visa has been granted to her. Of course her call to the consulate demanding to see the chief consul might have also had some bearing on it. Fingers crossed we will begin our new life in Germany on 16th April

Well done! Persistence and preparation pay off!

Lionel's story :
http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/lionel-in-conservative-pre-election.html

As I have said before, people will do what it takes to be with their loved ones - the essence of life itself. Oppressive rules which seek to divide people from their loved ones can only fail.

It's wonderful to see people take the initiative and resolve their situations. Long may it continue.

I have not lost faith. I'm not in despair, because I know that there is a moral order. I haven't lost faith, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. I can still sing "We Shall Overcome" because Carlyle was right: "No lie can live forever." We shall overcome because William Cullen Bryant was right: "Truth pressed to earth will rise again." We shall overcome because James Russell Lowell was right: "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne." Yet, that scaffold sways the future. We shall overcome because the bible is right: "You shall reap what you sow." With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our world into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
- http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

Steve & Galina

“They don’t see people behind the figures and so they turn our lives into hell..”

Steve is a British citizen and 57 years old.

In March 2010, he married Galina, a Russian and 50 years old. Together, they live in Bristol.

Galina arrived in the UK as the bride of a British citizen and had a residence permit for two years, as is the norm for spouses. They followed the rules and ensured UKBA was aware of the purpose of Galina’s journey here all those years ago.

During this time, Steve and Galina lived happily. They lived together, rescued a dog from the pound, and paid their taxes. They weren’t high-earners. But they earned enough for themselves to not need to ask for any help from the state. They were happy.

At the end of the residence permit, Galina went to apply for a continuation of her residence. But the rules had changed and Steve and Galina came to face the nightmare which is the UKBA.

The rules were now such that they required a Cambridge certificate. Galina is not a young girl any
more..while she has been learning English (and well enough to send in this story to BritCits), it takes her longer to pick up things. Her memory isn’t what it once was, her life isn’t as carefree and she is just older.

The UKBA refused the extension of Galina’s visa and have made the decision to force her to leave the UK despite her ties to this country. Only because she does not have a Cambridge certificate in the English language. Galina speaks fluent Spanish. However, they feel that just because Steve is British, they are being discriminated against. They feel it’s unfair.

Indeed, it’s clear that this evident of yet further incompetency from the UKBA as Steve and Galina fall under the pre-9th July rules..however UKBA insists on applying the new rules to them, even though they submitted their applicant a month before the new rules came into play.

(To quote directly from the Statement of Intent prior to 9th July 2012 http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/news/soi-fam-mig.pdf
Page 34 - 'Transitional arrangements' :
A fiancé(e), proposed civil partner, spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner, same sex partner, child or adult dependant with leave to enter or remain in the UK on the family route granted before 9 July 2012 will remain subject to the rules in force prior to that date. Likewise, those with leave granted before 9 July 2012 as a partner of a migrant with leave under the Points Based System, or as an adult dependant or post-flight family member of a refugee or person granted humanitarian protection in the UK, will also remain subject to the rules in force prior to that date. 

Clearly Steve and Galina should be covered under the old rules. This isn't the first time we've heard of this happening :
http://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/aroundthecounty/articles/2012/10/18/437955-newlyweds-facing-exile-under-new-immigration-laws-/

http://ukimmigrationstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/finally.html#sthash.aSpHdI6q.dpuf

http://ukimmigrationstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/finally.html#sthash.aSpHdI6q.dpuf

http://ukimmigrationstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/finally.html#sthash.aSpHdI6q.dpuf

http://thailand-uk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14991.html )

There is no answer to give to Steve and Galina, as to why after three years of marriage they are now being told there are yet further hurdles to jump over, else their marriage will be considered worthless by the government.

The UKBA has generously offered that for them to not breakup their marriage, Steve could leave the UK too. However, there is no understanding for the fact that Steve and Galina look after Steve’s 90 year old mother. If Steve were to do as the government wants and leave his home, who will look after this 90 year old British woman?

Dell and Valery

“The government is separating me from my wife and stepchildren, just because I don’t earn more than £24,800”

British citizen Dell is aged 50. Dell’s biggest regret until he married Valery was that he was unable to have children. When his only niece died, he felt choked by emotion and unspent fatherhood.

Dell and Valery met at the beginning of 2012. And they fell in love. With Valery, Dell finally got to be the father he had so longed for, and finally got to hear the word ‘Daddy’. Both Dell and Valery are joyful that Valery's children have accepted Dell so readily, further strengthening their own bond.

Valery is from Russia and has two children, aged fifteen and three. The biological father of her children died when her youngest was just one. The hurt was multiplied as Valery, an orphan herself, was seeing her own children in the same state.

Valery is a lawyer and does not have any financial concerns. But after a change in immigration law, this family is at a loss.

Dell owns his own home. He also has some savings and works as a manager of a large department store. His income is less than £24,800, but above average when compared to the earnings of other similar roles in Bristol, where he lives. They therefore are surprised at the statement made by their MP that the average salary in Bristol is £33,000, showing how out of touch he is.

(Editor's note: According to this article mapping median average salaries across the UK in 2011, the median pay in Bristol East is £19081; even in the wealthiest part of Bristol - Bristol West - it's only £24613. Dell therefore earns a middling to good salary for Bristol. The mean average is something different and outliers - a few people earning very high incomes - would skew the mean upwards, and not reflect how most people - the median - actually live. This is practically the oldest trick in the book of 'How to lie with statistics', which it seems the MP in question has read. http://www.ehow.com/info_8092419_difference-median-income-vs-average.html ).

Dell’s sister is extremely glad that her brother has finally found happiness. She owns real estate and is willing to help Dell in forming his own family.

But all this is not sufficient for the Home Office to allow this family to live together. The new rules ban third party sponsorship of this nature.

The treatment of the UK government violates the most basic Christian ethics - as Theresa May is so fond of stating, we are after all a Christian country, so why not apply Christian principles and afford compassion to children and respect the state of marriage.

Indeed, the rules in place breach the Universal Declaration of Human Rights : No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.

Perhaps politicians in the UK need a reminder:

Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Men and women of full age, without limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and found a family. They are entitled to equal rights to marriage, during marriage and at its
dissolution.
• Family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and
State.

Article 10 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

- “..applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of
family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious
manner. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall entail no
adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family."

Dell and Valery can’t help but wonder why the income and assets of the foreign spouse are not taken into account?

Why not allow for the fact that the foreign spouse will be working, paying taxes and participating in providing for the family?

Lionel

“In the Conservative pre-election waffle Mr Cameron made a great deal about his views on the sanctity of marriage and family values.”

Lionel, British by birth, married Svetlana in May 2010. He has been trying to have Svetlana join him in the UK ever since.





English Language – constantly changing requirements

Soon after their wedding Lionel was made redundant, so they delayed her spouse application until he found a new job, by which time the English requirement had been introduced. This in itself wasn’t a problem as their intention had always been for Svetlana to take English lessons, and where better to learn English than in England?!

Despite the change in the rules, his wife continued with her lessons and took a test at "Expert Language Schools" in Kaliningrad. It never even occurred to them that it would need to be taken at an approved centre as this wasn’t clearly indicated, and the immigration ‘expert’ they sought advice and assistance from, at considerable expense, didn’t tell them about it until an hour before Svetlana was due at the visa centre in Moscow.

Needless to say her visa was refused because her B1 certificate was not issued by an “approved centre”. The only place in Kaliningrad that is approved to issue a certificate only supports the IELTS test. In March 2011 Lionel’s wife sat the exam, following some tuition. Since her previous test her use of English has been limited and she achieved an overall band score of 4.

At the time UKBA website's Approved Partner list stated grade 4 was sufficient. However, the new list states for IELTS minimum is grade 4 in all disciplines; Svetlana achieved grade 4 in listening, grade 3 in speaking. The question for her speaking test was ludicrous, of an academic nature, dealing with politics.

As Svetlana indicates, she could not have answered the question adequately in her native language, let alone in English, and Lionel believes he may well have struggled to provide a suitable answer as well, despite being British born and bred!!

It was and still is the view held by Lionel that if a grade 4 is equivalent to level B1 then surely grade 3 is at least level A2., Now, because of this government, he and his wife are regularly forced to converse on Skype, in English, and they communicate without any issues at all.

Svetlana is unable to study towards the English language requirements at present. She works from 9am to 7pm every day, only having Sundays off, to earn a meagre £350 per month. English classes are not available outside these times. Of course supporting two homes and visits to Russia has severely depleted Lionel’s savings as well, giving UKBA yet another reason to refuse.

Insufficient funds

Since the initial denial in early 2011, Lionel and his wife have been forced to have an online relationship (apart from the times he has visited her in Russia).

The expense of the initial application and the fact that he has since supported two homes, one in the UK and one in Russia, along with the cost of visiting his wife in Russia, has resulted in his savings being severely depleted which would now result in a denial on the grounds of insufficient funds to support her.

They are being denied the right to be a family because of this rule. Lionel is being discriminated against because he dared to marry someone from outside the EU.

While they have explored other options, they are being blocked every step of the way. They considered a family visit visa, where he would support his wife during her stay in the UK and enrol her on an English language course. Then she would return to Russia and make another application; but – and there’s always a 'but' – it is not permitted for Lionel’s wife to study while on a family visit or tourist visa.

Manifesto a farce

In the Conservative pre-election manifesto, Mr. Cameron made a great deal about his views on the sanctity of marriage and family values.

These rules make an absolute mockery of his views. They effectively prevent people such as Lionel and Svetlana from living together as a family.

These rules are ludicrous; the majority of couples who are affected by the rules have every intention of learning English and studying for the Knowledge of Life in the UK test in order to apply for ILR.

A better solution would be to make enrolment on an English language course, once in the UK, a condition of the visa.

Lionel and Svetlana have done everything correctly; they considered the fact that Lionel was made redundant and decided it would not be correct to make an application until he had secured employment. Now, the government has implemented a minimum gross income which, fortunately, Lionel can currently meet.

However, with future checks and current economic climate, there is no guarantee he will continue to meet it for five years.

Family visit visa

They applied for a family visit visa but were unsuccessful. Svetlana’s parents live in Russia and her
daughter (Lionel’s stepdaughter) is studying at Kiel University; the UKBA felt that this wasn’t sufficient to guarantee that Svetlana would leave, and therefore refused her the right to visit her husband.

As time goes by this couple’s only solution is to accept enforced exile and for Lionel to look for work in another European country.

Yet another Brit being exiled from his country. This is what these UK politicians have brought this
country to.