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So me and my brother applied for a tourist visit visa (From Egypt), The refusal for me was for 2 reasons:

1- Officer thought I wrote the income "2500" in Egyptian Pounds so it was so small, Although the application website asked for the amount in GBP! 2- I'm not supporting anyone in Egypt, So I had little ties to Egypt even though I own a company here for past 2 years and attached company tax statement.

In the following application screenshot you can see all amounts with no currency indication when the application was printed

And here you can see the assessment officer assumed all to be in GBP except for my income which he assumed to be in EGP even though the site asked for all amounts in GBP

For my brother, Reasons are: 1- The assessment person also miss-understood his HR letter from the bank he's working for.. Letter said he worked there for 2 years but the assessment officer only read the letter "Issue date" and thought he started working there for just a week which is when the letter was issued! 2- Also he's not supporting any one in Egypt so he has little ties to Egypt, Even though we both went for a tourism trip to Dubai over a year ago and this is not our first travel.

Refusal letter said we can't appeal because its a visit visa, I'm more angry at this more than I'm about the processing errors mentioned and the refusal.. Is there anything we can do other than new visa applications?

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    It would help if you provided the full text of (both) of your rejection letters. You can raise a complaint if you feel that your rejection was based on imroper procedure (eg taking an amount in GBP as being EGP, misunderstading a clear letter), however you have no grounds for complaint regarding matters of judgement (eg no strong ties is a decision on the part of the ECO - all you can do there is make a fresh application that will convince them.
    – CMaster
    Feb 1, 2016 at 15:04
  • Thanks for your reply @CMaster I saw an email for complaints on the visa4uk site, Assuming I send a complaint about not reading some documents properly like the Application & HR letter, Would they reconsider the applications? Also do you think if I clear these points on a new application, Still without any dependents would that have a chance?
    – a.abdelmohsen
    Feb 1, 2016 at 18:07
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    I can see the problem with the currency. The guidance tells you straight up to specify the currency you are using or to use local currency as the default. This isn't the ECO's fault.
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 1, 2016 at 21:52
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    +1 for adding the refusal formulae. Also where did you tell them what exchange rate you used to convert your amounts to Sterling?
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 1, 2016 at 22:01
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    If 71 - 73 are costs associated with the trip (1300), that doesn't match up with 69 where you say the total cost is 700. You also answered no to 66, but that should include any savings you have.
    – mkennedy
    Feb 1, 2016 at 23:27

2 Answers 2

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To get to the bottom of this we have to start with what they mean by "What is your total monthly income from all sources of employment or occupation after tax?" For most people it means what's in their paycheck after taxes. But for a few others, it's more complex, especially if they get income from multiple sources, and there's an extra layer of complexity if they get income denominated in multiple currencies. The form needs to accommodate both of those types of cases.

What the applicant is meant to do is to roll up their world-wide income and convert to their base currency. Here's a screen cap of the application where someone is reporting a world-wide monthly income of 18,500 Egyptian Pounds...

enter image description here

At the applicant's discretion, they can also report the equivalent amount in Sterling. Here's the associated screen cap...

enter image description here

Note that each time the entry is denominated using the appropriate ISO code. This is what ECO's want to see and if the applicant is vague the ECO will interpret the figure as the applicant's base currency. You were vague, so that explains the ECO's assumptions (which led to your disappointment).

Expenses, on the other hand, are a bit different. Expenses are reported in Sterling because if a person is visiting the UK they will be spending Sterling and it gives all applications a common reference point. So to keep things consistent, all expenses are reported in Sterling. Here's the relevant screen cap...

enter image description here

Exchange rates in a visitor application are meant to be reasonable approximations and they will give a reasonable amount of leeway. So while it is not required, an applicant using "best practices" has the option of adding something like...

enter image description here

Doing this helps to convey that the applicant is treating the application with diligence and due sobriety.

Finally, people are advised to read the guidance. The guidance contains instructions for each element of the form, and for your question it says...

enter image description here

The part I have highlighted in red says...

Please state your total monthly income after taxes have been deducted. Please state which currency e.g. US Dollars or UK Pounds Sterling.

To summarize: when completing a UK visitor application, don't be vague. This was a fair cop.

For your other questions about using their complaints procedure, you can always complain if it helps get things off your chest. Based upon the refusal notice however, they are not going to change their decision or even offer you a gratis application next time.

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    While the applicant probably should be clearer, it does read a bit like wilful misunderstanding on the part of the ECO. They seem to assume that income is in EGP but monthly living costs are GBP? And then go "Hmm, your bank statement shows you earning a lot more than I thought you should..."
    – CMaster
    Feb 2, 2016 at 8:48
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    I don't think leaving it like this is going to cause you any particular difficulty. Yes, you may have to disclose that you have been refused for a visa before, but there's no suggestion anywhere that you were dishonest or unreliable - this refusal isn't a black mark, it's just that you haven't provided satisfactory evidence at this point. Of course, if you do reapply, get granted a visa, make a trip to the UK then return to Egypt on time, it's going to look good on future applications.
    – CMaster
    Feb 2, 2016 at 10:55
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    @CMaster, where's your grounds for saying it's unclear? Did you look at the guidance where they say to specify the currency outright?
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 2, 2016 at 11:21
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    @a.abdelmohsen, Honestly! What you need to do is find a grown-up who can read this to you: Please state your total monthly income after taxes have been deducted. Please state which currency e.g. US Dollars or UK Pounds Sterling Adulthood can be immeasurably helpful in situations like this.
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 2, 2016 at 11:38
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    @a.abdelmohsen This is a Q&A site about travel, what exactly do you want us to do about this? You were given the reason your application was probably denied, based on the information you gave us. Complaining that it might be wrong, that it's unfair, asking why it's not worded one way rather than another, is an absolute waste of everybody's time. We're not in a position to change any of that.
    – Anthony Grist
    Feb 2, 2016 at 13:24
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Answer for the question:

You have no right to appeal or give feedback of any type.. so any error by the embassy or your self will result in a final refusal that sticks to you for years.

You can complain, But that wont change anything with the refusal which is final. Also you can file a new application which also will leave your travel history with the first refusal.

What UK visa system don't understand or just don't care about is that a final refusal even if applied again can still deeply affect one's future travel anyware. Thats why if youre just a tourist dont take this risk with UK and consider a visa for any other country that allows appeal and/or feedback.

Evidence? Here's the reply from complains:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email of 01 February 2016

We are unable to assist you with your enquiry as this is about applying from overseas for an Entry Clearance Visa or regarding a refund for your visa application from overseas.

Please refer to the link below for further assistance

https://ukvi-international.faq-help.com/

Should you need to ask a question about the visa application process you will find the telephone number and a form to email your enquiries, the email option is free of charge There may also be web chat available

I am sorry I cannot be of further assistance.

Yours sincerely,

UK Visas and Immigration

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    This isn't correct - if the embassy has made a mistake you can appeal it, and we have a couple of question on that, eg this one. If you as the applicant make a mistake, which it seems you did this time due to not fully reading the guidance, then no appeal is possible
    – Gagravarr
    Feb 2, 2016 at 14:00
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    While I can understand your personal frustration, it is this way with every (what used to be called 1st world) country that of which I am aware. There are literally millions of visa applicants yearly. If they allowed everyone to follow up, there would be tremendous backlogs. Your job, as a visa applicant, is to fix the problems with your application, and resubmit. If you can't, won't, or don't understand your problems, it may be time to hire a solicitor, or at the very least, a travel expert (agent) to help you understand.
    – CGCampbell
    Feb 2, 2016 at 14:45
  • @Gagravarr I did mention the complain option and I was correct.. Its not an appeal like with European visas.
    – a.abdelmohsen
    Feb 2, 2016 at 15:45
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    Who will pay for those resources? Are you happy to pay GBP 1,500 per application?
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 2, 2016 at 16:58
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    OP - you've been told our opinion, you didn't like it, we get it. Time to get on with correcting your misunderstandings in the application and submit a corrected application instead of beating us up about it.
    – CGCampbell
    Feb 2, 2016 at 19:25

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