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I'm a journalist for two UK national newspapers. I'm compiling an article about the difficulties faced by foreign nationals in getting UK visas – the hurdles to jump over, the endless documentation to compile, the ease with which one can be refused on technicalities – especially for something as overtly "simple" as a visitor visa.

I am interested both in hearing the stories of those who have been refused, and hearing the advice and wise counsel of the many (clearly well-informed) people on this site who offer answers, and who can perhaps shed some light on common problems faced/common mistakes made, etc.

I apologise if this is the wrong forum for this appeal, or if there is a proper section in which to ask it – but I cannot work out how else to ask. Without 'reptutation' points, I cannot even comment under individual questions. If you're interested, it'd be great to hear more from you.

Thank you,

Kieron

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    The problem is that we are a Q&A website, not a traditional forum. Questions which cannot be answered directly have to be closed. Thank you for your understanding.
    – JonathanReez
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 16:15
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    by the end of this weekend you will have the required rep to chat, or you can visit META meta.travel.stackexchange.com where you are already over the rep hurdle.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 17:01
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    You can easily enough find people who will tell you anything. But it's often questionable whether what they tell you bears any resemblance to reality. Of the hundreds of UK visa refusals we've seen here, I'm convinced that a significant number of them weren't genuine visitors and were trying to enter the UK via deception. Many others made serious but avoidable mistakes in their visa applications. But I can't recall a single refusal that was inappropriate given their individual circumstances. Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 17:50
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    @MichaelHampton nice one. Insightful. Plus about 100% of the refusals in our archives were predictable at the outset. It means before they even gave biometrics and submitted their stuff their applications were DOOMED because of evidential shortfall or funds parking or whatever. But these things do not reach the media and hence the OP is wasting his time here.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 18:16
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    @MichaelHampton – it's a fair point and I don't doubt for a second that there are many with bad intentions. My angle is not "everyone's being unfairly refused, it's outrageous", more that the rules (while understandably stringent) are SO stringent in such specific ways that there are sad cases who have genuine reasons for visiting and get denied. My Tunisian girlfriend is one: She just wants to come to the UK to take an exam and improve her professional credentials. But she cannot demonstrate sufficient home ties, so is routinely denied. Thus, what hope does she have of bettering her life?
    – Kieron
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 20:30

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