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I need a concise advice on my current issue. I applied for a tourist visa to UK in November to go and visit my sister and her family for Christmas, and was refused based on:

  1. I said I was self-employed and stated a personal income of 150k (1.8 million per annum) monthly, but my tax paper was showing about 52+ thousand (670,455 per annum) which unfortunately was a mistake made by the lawyer I used. Such documents didn't obviously correspond.

  2. I submitted a company bank statement, and there was no proof I was a sole signatory to the account.

I really needed to travel then so I quickly requested a reference form from my back which stated I am the sole signatory to the account, then went back to the tax office complained, made extra payments got an accurate tax receipt and went to the court to swear an affidavit backing up the discrepancies.

Then I applied for another application two weeks later (December) and was refused again. Here's the refusal word for word:

  1. Your last application was refused as there was discrepancy in the information contained on your tax document and application form regarding your income. You have now stated there was an error in your tax document and your annual income was entered incorrectly. You have submitted a new tax papers stating your annual income as 1.8mil and not 670,455 as previously stated. Whilst I note you have submitted a new tax document I am aware that this document are readily available in Nigeria and cannot be relied upon. There is nothing from the tax office to explain why there was this error or how it occurred and no other documentation to confirm your annual income.

  2. I note you have submitted a business bank statement which shows a balance of 1.3 mil, however your starting balance was just 788.890. This means you have deposited a significant amount of money into the account within a short space of time and it's not clear where the money came from. I note there are two large deposits from your sponsor who you claim is your cousin and sponsoring your trip however there is nothing to show you are related as claimed to this person. And it's not clear why he would agree to sponsor your trip. I also note he made a transfer of 5million into your account in Oct. And it's not clear what this money was for, and I'm not satisfied you have presented an accurate picture of your current circumstances. In light of the above I am not satisfied you are a genuine visitor to the UK who intends to leave at the end of your trip nor am I satisfied you can maintain and accommodate yourself.

My questions are:

  1. Is it possible that's I've been banned without my knowledge?

  2. How do I prove my sponsor is my cousin? I don't intend to use a sponsor at all in my next application, bit still need to respond to the last refusal.

  3. How do I explain the 5 million he paid, because the truth is that money was used to pay a school fees abroad so it was transferred out of my account the next day, so it wasn't as if I used it to be running my account as regards a visa?

  4. what do they mean by documentation to confirm your annual income.?

I am an entrepreneur, I deal on clothing and textiles. I have a boutique and my company is registered but it's an enterprise (was registered in 2013 (March)).

I do hope to apply again a.s.a.p. but I don't want a refusal again. Advise me on how to tackle this refusal and the necessary documents I need for a new application. Accommodation is not a problem for me because I have family over there, would love to visit this summer. But I wish to meet all necessary requirements.

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  • Please use paragraph breaks. This is impossible to read. Feb 10, 2016 at 0:54
  • Okk... Right away.
    – Star
    Feb 10, 2016 at 1:04
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    You have not been banned. BUT... There are lots of literate, educated people on this site and some may find your use of SMS chat language off-putting (I.e., 'UR' and 'U' instead of 'you'). Would you please use the authentic language used in your refusal notice?
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 10, 2016 at 5:23
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    "Here's the refusal word for word:" followed by a whole bunch of text speak. I'm pretty sure that UK visa refusal letters are not written in text speak. I conclude that either you don't know what "word for word" means or you're bing dishonest with us. Feb 10, 2016 at 7:31
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    @DavidRicherby, yes there are credibility problems with the narrative that prevent my wasting time on an answer, but further to your point: the legal grounds for the refusal are missing from the 'word for word' rendition.
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 10, 2016 at 7:36

1 Answer 1

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You have created quite a problem for yourself. In your first application your income statements differ significantly (why the amounts differ is of no concern to the inspector). The updated document you sent is apparently unreliable in your country.

Your bank statements show small balance -> big deposit -> big withdrawal. This looks a lot like money laundering or just bumping up the balance for the application. The large payment from your cousin was poorly timed.

Nigeria is pretty much top of the list where fraud, false documentation and outright lying on visa applications to the UK are concerned, and your story (which I will assume to be true) sounds just like many other stories that are not true. You cannot backtrack and try again as a changing story looks even more like fraud.

Book an in-person appointment with the visa department, bring business records, long-term bank records, phone number of your bank manager, major customer etc. etc. You need to convince the inspector of 2 things: that you can support yourself during your visit, and that you will leave when you say you will leave. Based on your application history your cousin may be visiting you instead.

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    This is a great answer except that people cannot book in-person appointments at a British Consulate General for the purposes of getting an entry clearance. If they want to see you (which they usually do not), they will initiate contact and even then it's only when they have an active application in hand. Instead the OP has properly peed in the well and should get a member of the UK Law Society lawsociety.org.uk to unsnarl the mess. Can you please update your answer? Thanks.
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 10, 2016 at 5:20
  • So are you saying I can't apply Again?what do I do since the UK does not allow a face to face interview with applicants, neither do they require your bank records dating longer than 6 months prior to your trave? Thanks.
    – Star
    Feb 10, 2016 at 8:31
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    He's recommending that you hire a lawyer, specifically one that is a member of the UK Law Society, to help, because you've created quite the mess for yourself. The fact that you submitted documents with one income, then later submitted documents showing 3x that income, claiming a mistake on your tax papers, is going to make it very difficult for the officials to believe anything you submit. Anyone would conclude you were either trying to defraud the local tax office or lie on your visa application. Hiring a reputable lawyer won't be cheap, but could be your best chance to try to clear this up. Feb 11, 2016 at 22:21

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