Why would your UK VISA application be refused?

Jun 3, 2019, 1:10 PM @ugandaonline

What to do to get your UK Visa and why it can also be refused

What to look out for before applying for a UK Visa. Inset is a copy of Fik Fameica's visa to the UK

United Kingdom is one of the top most tourist destinations and to visit for business or tourist purposes, you need a visa especially if you are from Uganda.

An Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) who in the case of Uganda is based in Pretoria where Kampala applications are handled will have to make a decision on your application as to whether to give or refuse you a visa to the UK.

The decision is based on your supporting documents and evidence you provide along with an 11 page application form with close to 100 questions which can be downloaded from the UK Visas and Immigration website https://www.gov.uk/apply-to-come-to-the-uk

The ECO has to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the applicant will be able to leave the UK at the end of their planned visit and this can be demonstrated from the documents you avail along with your application.

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The documents that you submit have to be originals and in English and those that are not, should have a full translation together with the details of the translator who also confirms that it is a translation of the original document.

These are some of the documents that one can provide irrespective of the reason for the visit.

Valid travel document, preferably a national passport
Bank Statements
proof of earnings such as a letter from employer confirming employment details (start date of employment, salary, role, company contact details)
In case of a sponsor, documents to show they have sufficient resources to support you in addition to themselves and any dependant family should be provided
If self employed, then documents pertaining to your business and when it was registered should be availed.
In case of performances and entertainment visitors, letters from inviting organizations clearly stating what you will be doing, details of payment to be received should be provided.

Once you have finished filling in the online form on the GOV.UK website, you will then pay the visa fees for your preferred visa period using your visa card, the minimum being 6 months, but they have other options too of 2years, 5 years and 10 years which cost more of course.

You can apply for a 5 year visa, but once the ECO finds that you do not deserve it, but according to him/her you qualify for a visa, you will by default be given a six month visa.

In the same vein, if you do not qualify for a visa according to the ECO's assessment, not even paying for a 10 year visa will save you, you will be rejected.

Once done with the online application and the online payment, you will then be redirected to the TLS website, which is the Visa Application Centre (VAC) where you can book an appointment for submitting your documents and capturing of your biometrics.

The Visa Application Centre for the case of Uganda is located at Block A Victoria Court, Old Kira road in Kamwokya and their job is to receive your application form, attachments and passport that they in turn forward to the Decision Making Centre (DMC) in Pretoria, South Africa, they do not take part in the making of a decision for your application.

The application normally takes 15 working days excluding weekends and public holidays, but according to the GOV.UK website, 99% applications are completed in 30 days. You can contact the VAC after the 30 days just in case you've not heard from them.

Back to the question, why would your UK visa be refused or rejected?

There could be a variety of factors that could lead to your visa application being rejected or refused and here below we look at some of them;

Insufficient funds - This is the number one cause of most rejections. If your monthly salary for example, is the equivalent of the visa application fee, this will easily tantamount into a rejection unless when you demonstrate that you have other sources that can be defended as detailed in your application.
Submitting false documents. These days almost everything can be verified but that goes to say, if you submit something that cannot be verified, you are not very safe either.
If the applicant overstayed on a previous trip to the UK
Withholding some information on the application form like previous visa refusals. They could be sharing information with other countries so it is important that you answer the questions with facts.
Not having strong ties - Do you have a property, Do you have a job, Do you have a family and so on and so forth are the questions the UK Immigration officer is looking at because then, these will compel you to leave the UK

Large amounts of money on your bank account whose source cannot be explained will cause more harm than good.
You are employed, but your salary does not reflect on your bank statement
When the amount you intend to spend on your trip is more than your annual monthly income

Those are just some of them, but the onus is on the applicant to make sure that they have everything in order before applying for a UK Visa, because, once rejected, the only option is to re apply as visitor visa refusals have no chance of appeal. Best of luck.