UK visitor visa refused due to previously staying for too long and not having strong ties. How should I reapply?

Question

I had applied for a UK visa recently and it got refused. My trip was funded by my brother and sister so financially it should have been no problem. The reasons for refusal were:

I have refused your application for a visit visa because I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph 4.2 of appendix V:Immigration rules for visitor because:

• You have stated that you intend to travel to the UK for 6 weeks to visit your brother.
• I acknowledge that you have travelled to the UK before. I also note that on that occasion you stated that you would also stay for 6 weeks and ended up in the UK for four months. It is unclear how you were able to take such a lengthy period away from your studies and what you did in the UK for that period of time.
• I have to consider your circumstances when assessing your application. The evidence that you have provided with your application does not demonstrate your own circumstance. I understand that you state you're a student and as such do not have employment but the evidence that you have submitted does not indicate how you are able to meet the day to day cost of living. As you have provided no evidence of your financial circumstances it is very difficult for me to assess your financial standing in your home country.
• Additionally, you do not appear to have any saving, income or assets of your own. On the balance of probabilities I am not satisfied that you have demonstrated that you have strong family and financial ties to your home country which would encourage you to leave the UK should you be granted entry.
• In light of the above and on the balance of probabilities, I am not satisfied that you are genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for a limited period not exceeding 6 month or that you intend to leave the UK at the end of the visit as required by Appendix V 4.2(a)and(c) of the Immigration Rules.

Future Applications

Any future UK visa application you make will be considered on their individual merits, however you are likely to be refused unless the circumstances of your application change.

I'm confused on what I read; I do not know what to do.

What was wrong with my application?

What do I need to provide in addition to other documents to ensure that I get the visa?

What was wrong with my application and what corrective steps should I take for my next application?

Answer 1

There is nothing to be confused about. On your previous visit to the UK, you stayed way longer than you said you would in your application. Although you were given a standard six month visa and leave to enter, the fact is that you indicated you would stay for six weeks. That implies your word cannot be taken at face value. Clearly in your recent application you did not provide extenuating reasons for staying longer on the previous trip.

Secondly it is very unusual for any kind of student to have a vacation break which is four plus months long. Thus your credibility as a student is shot. Your strongest tie to your home country is the fact that you are a student who would normally want to complete his education. However you have already undermined your student credentials so you have no legs to stand on.

There is very little you can do in the short term to change the officers mind. Forget about this trip. Among things you can do in the coming months and years, you can do some traveling (preferably to developed countries on similar standing as the UK) and returning to your country within the time limits set by the visa, and get a job, home, maybe spouse and kids, then you are ready to apply again to the UK.

Answer 2

What was wrong with my application?

• You did not provide sufficient evidence of how you can afford to support yourself financially in the UK for six weeks.
  • insufficient evidence of steady income over a long period gradually building up savings for a holiday.
  • evidence of other acceptable sources of funding. If your siblings are funding your travel, accommodation and subsistence, you may need to provide evidence of
    • how they are able to afford this (evidence of savings, income etc) and explain
    • why they want to spend a potentially significant amount of money on this lengthy visit or series of lengthy visits.
• You did not provide sufficient evidence of strong ties to your homeland which would cause you to strongly want to return there
  • job, dependants, property, etc.

What do I need to provide in addition to other documents to ensure that I get the visa?

You need to provide evidence for the subjects described above and (more importantly) in the refusal letter. There is guidance on the relevant UK website that specifies which documents you should include (bank statements etc) to provide a clear, accurate and concise description of your situation.

You may also need to account for

• why, on your previous visit, you stayed for four months instead of the six weeks you had said.
• You need to explain, and provide evidence, how you were able to be absent from your student institution for four months without jeopardising your education.
• It might help to also provide some evidence of how you managed to support yourself financially for an unanticipated extra ten weeks.

I am not sure what you can provide that will give the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) any confidence at all that when you say six weeks you actually mean six weeks this time and not four months, four years or forever. The only way I can think of you being able to do this is to

• provide very strong evidence indeed that your presence is very strongly required in your home country soon after the six weeks absence.

What was wrong with my application ...

You already asked this, see above.

and what corrective steps should I take for my next application?

See answer to second question above. It may be time to

• consult a UK lawyer - which will be expensive.
• Alternatively, wait until you have built up stronger ties to your home country (job, family, dependants, property, etc) and/or evidence of this.