Visa Declined?

In our line of work, there is obviously nothing worse than having a Visa declined and thankfully, given the way we operate that doesn’t happen very often. Whilst we could claim some sort of ludicrously high success rate, the reality is, Visas are declined for various reasons. For us and on the very rare occasions that an application is rejected, it is almost always because the application carried a degree of risk that we would have prepared the applicant for or something surfaced during the process, that we were not made aware of.

The reason we are able to avoid applications being declined, is because we understand what each visa requires, and even if there are some challenges we can generally plan ahead for them. In the rare situations where we can’t predict the outcome, we let our clients know in advance and warn them before they make the decision to proceed. Having decades of experience helps you figure out what will work and what is potentially going to fail.

However most applicants, approaching this on their own, dont have the benefit of that experience or understanding and in many cases this is the first and possibly only application they will ever make - getting it right doesn’t always happen and failure, for the DIY crowd, can be an inevitable outcome. When you consider how much some of these Visas costs, that mistake can be very costly, but can also change the course of your life.

On top of that, if your application is declined, working out what to do next, can be just as confusing as filing the application in the first place. So this week we are going to look at some of the key reasons for applications heading off the rails, and some of the options available to applicants who find themselves in this situation. This isn’t a tutorial on how to fix a declined Visa by the way (each outcome has its own issues) but will hopefully give you an idea as to what avenues you have to pursue, should you find yourself out of pocket and out of Visas.

What Leads To A Decline?

Given how complex the Visa process can be, having an application declined can often be the result of a very larger and varied number of reasons. Providing the wrong (or not enough) evidence, ticking the wrong box in the application form, or even applying for the wrong Visa to start with are all fairly common reasons for applications to jump off the rails and head in to the abyss. All too often, people make some rather strange assumptions in terms of the way INZ will assess applications or assume that if there are issues, INZ will get in touch to clarify things, which in many cases they dont need to do.

Many Roads To A Decline

Visas can be complex and so getting it right is often a lot harder than people thing, getting it wrong, not so much.

For example, if you submit an application for a temporary Visa (Visitor, Work or Student) whilst you are offshore, INZ is under no obligation to seek clarification from you or raise any specific concerns. They can decide your application based on the evidence and information you provide upfront. There is one exception to this, which is where INZ has information that you were not aware of or didn’t provide, but that is very rare. So in this case, getting it right from the start is mission critical. If you are onshore when you apply for a temporary Visa, then INZ will ordinarily contact you for further information or to raise any specific concerns. This is based on the fact that someone onshore has more to lose (at stake) than someone offshore. These questions usually come in the form of a Request for More Information (RFI) or a Potentially Prejudicial Information (PPI) letter.

These RFI and PPI’s issues and then declines for offshore applicants are largely based on applicant submitting the wrong information, or not understanding the level of evidence that INZ needs to justify that persons eligibility for the Visa they have applied for. Whilst INZ’s website and instructions offer clues, there are also plenty of application specific criteria that INZ uses, which aren’t always obvious. For example, Student Visa applicants from certain countries have to provide very specific evidence of the funds they will use for accommodation and maintenance. Applying for a Visitor Visa from certain countries, will require much greater levels of evidence for your incentives to return and so forth.

Getting the level of evidence right, depends not only on the Visa you are applying for, but your particular circumstances as well. Not all applicants will understand that their passport and country of origin will dictate how much evidence is required.

Of course there are other reasons for Visas being declined, including the wrong answer in a form, applying for the wrong type of Visa or more significant health or character concerns, but overwhelmingly the vast majority of declines are based on relatively simple issues or applicant’s simply not being aware of what is required of them - to be fair, INZ doesn’t always make that obvious.

What Can You Do?

Even after 22 years in the business, I still get butterflies when the email from INZ arrives - the one with the Visa decision attached. My butterflies have reduced in size over the years, because we always know what is coming, but they still flutter around nonetheless. I think that response, keeps us sharp and focused on making sure each application is presented in the right way.

However for a first time applicant or even for someone who has run the gauntlet a few times, when this is your Visa and its your life hanging on the results of that email, those butterflies would be potentially lifting you off the ground. If that email reveals a decline decision, the trip back down to earth can be pretty swift and painful.

What Options Do You Have?

Figuring out what to do next after your visa has been declined, can be a confusing and challenging process.

The next question of course is “what can I do?” and the answer to that is a bit complex. If you are offshore and INZ declines the application based purely on the information you have provided there are no easy ways to contest that. There is no right of appeal or reconsideration for an applicant offshore, unless INZ declined the application for information that you were not made aware of. That is particularly rare, and so most offshore declines for a temporary Visa, lead to having to try and file the application again.

If you are onshore, when your temporary Visa is declined, and provided you are here lawfully, then you do have a right to request the application is reconsidered. You have 14 days from the date of decline to file that reconsideration and the request is then considered by a different (usually more senior officer).

Of course for Residence, there are very different avenues, including a right of appeal through a separate body (the Immigration Protection Tribunal), however for this article we have focused on the temporary Visa process.

What happens though, if you are offshore and the Visa is declined or you have exceeded the reconsideration window onshore - are there any ways to change an outcome. Well technically there are, but it requires being able to communicate the issue with the right people within INZ and also having grounds to actually make that sort of request.

We came across a situation recently, where an offshore Visitor Visa applicant had been declined, for very strange reasons - reasons that made me wonder how much the officer had actually considered. In this scenario we were able to raise the issue with the right person, the application was then raised again with no fee or new forms and then processed properly with the right questions being asked and the outcome being a successful one. This wasn’t actually one of our clients, but the client of an industry colleague (we do help each other out where we can).

Ultimately INZ can set right a situation where a decline doesn’t make sense, and if approached in the right way, this can lead to a far simpler process and outcome for the client. However it has to be for good reason and so not every decline can be challenged in this way.

The best option is to avoid the risk of your Visa being declined and that involves making sure you get it right from the start.

How To Avoid A Declined Visa

It sounds simpler than it is, but avoiding a decline starts with getting your application right. There are a few easy, but not always obvious, steps that you can take to avoid the dreaded decline email.

• Make sure you are applying for the right Visa. Sounds silly, but you would be surprised at how many people apply for a Visa that doesn’t fit their circumstances.

• Research what is required. Understanding what you need to do, and what evidence you need to provide is crucial and usually involves a bit more work than just reading the form or website. Speak to someone who understands that Visa application category and can give you a clear picture of the level of evidence involved.

• Check and check again. Before you submit, make sure you have included everything required for it to be a strong case. Double check everything has uploaded to the online form correctly as well.

• Get help. If you think your application might be a bit tricky or you are simply not confident in having everything you need, then get some advice. Considering how important this process is, investing in some good advice, might cost you some money, but will save you expense and time in the long run.

It is unfortunate that most people never see the benefit of using an adviser until they have an application declined, at which point they often reach out to those who might be able to assist. In some cases we can and do fixt these issues up, but in others, the problem might be too large to deal with.

My advice, to anyone looking to apply for any sort of Visa, is to get some good advice upfront. Even if it is just to identify the potential issues you might face or to give you a clearer picture as to how to lodge an application that stands a better chance of success.

Until next week…why not take a look at our more comprehensive guide, which covers a lot of the above detail.