UK visa never applied for refused for wife of British lawyer

Comments by Sanwar Ali:

Perhaps the UK visa system is so complex and confusing that even UK Visas and Immigration staff at the Home Office are likely to make mistakes.  Surely it is possible to design a simpler and easier to understand system.  The financial requirements for an UK family based application such as a marriage visa are complex and confusing and difficult to understand.  It adds to the confusion when applicants need to set up an account and apply firstly via the UK visa website, and then set up another account at a private sector website to be able to make a biometrics appointment for a UK visa application.

A British lawyer was refused a UK visa that he didn’t apply for following a Home Office blunder. Samir Pasha forked out £3,204 for a UK partner visa to bring his new, Pakistani wife to Britain. Instead, Mr Pasha was refused a UK visit visa that he never applied for, which costs just £95.

Mr Pasha, 31, paid out £3,204 plus legal costs to bring wife Zunab Fareha Pasha, 24, a dyslexia specialist to Britain. The pair married in Pakistan in December 2019.

As part of his partner visa application, Mr Pasha had to submit hundreds of documents as supporting evidence to the Home Office proving his marriage was genuine, showing details of his financial situation and his employment status.

UK visit visa rejected

Despite this, Mr Pasha received notification from the Home Office that his UK visit visa application had been rejected. However, applicants for visit visas do not usually have to provide hundreds of documents as supporting evidence.

Mr Pasha says the ‘rejection’ had left him stuck because he had no right to appeal against the decision on a visa he didn’t even apply for.

He told The Guardian: “I have no right of appeal and no right of administrative review. I’m in Pakistan with my wife. Our trust in the British immigration system has been shattered. I will have to stay in Pakistan for as long as it takes for this to be rectified.”

UK Visas at Home Office contacted by The Guardian

The Guardian contacted the Home Office for details of Mr Pasha’s case, and just a day later, he received a letter of apology ‘for sending you a blank visa refusal.’ The visit visa rejection has since been overturned and Pasha’s application for a UK spouse visa will now be reviewed.

Pasha said: “We followed all the rules, we meet the income requirements and we have a genuine relationship.”

The British lawyer said that this isn’t the first time his family has faced problems when applying for a partner visa. His brother reportedly experienced the same problem when applying for a marriage visa for his wife, Mueen Pasha.

The Home Office denied the visa on the grounds that ‘he should not be away from the family pizza business for several months and there were inconsistencies in the account of the menu provided by him and his father.’

The father said that the pizza restaurant served pizza, while his son said garlic bread, chicken wings and ice cream were also served as side dishes.

In March 2019, a judge in the immigration tribunal refuted the Home Office’s decision to refuse the marriage visa and ruled that the visa should be issued and that the Home Office should pay the couple £140. More than 12 months later, the £140 payment has not been issued.

Claims that "correctly handled" by the Home Office

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Ms Zunab Pasha’s application was correctly handled by the Home Office as a spousal visa and was refused. However, due to an administrative error, an incorrect form was issued to Ms Pasha.”

“In light of this error, we will now review the application and the fee already paid will cover this, so Ms Zunab Pasha will not have to pay again. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will contact the customer directly. In the case of Ms Rabia Pasha, we are reviewing the judge’s comments and considering our next steps,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Pasha is a qualified barrister who works for MTC solicitors as a caseworker. Pasha’s representative in the case said: “This toxic culture at the Home Office is forcing bona fide applicants to endure months of enforced separation. The Home Office are playing with people’s lives and their futures.”

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