Ordinary Gweilo

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Red tape

Phiz is having a few problems getting some sort of visa to live in the UK:

Went to British Consulate today to apply for visa as Returning Resident. Gave them letter from work showing that I have worked for them since 1994, have been on secondment since 1999, and am now returning to the UK to continue working for them. Also gave them marriage certificate demonstrating I’m married to a British citizen and passport copies demonstrating that I am the mother of British citizens. Also gave them leasehold of our London flat.

Is there anything else you can give us to demonstrate your intention to settle in the UK, she asks.

Like what, I say.

Anything, she says.

Ooh, that’s helpful. Anything.

What?! What could that be? If being married to a Brit, the mother of Brits, owning a London flat and working for a British company for the past 13 years and with every intention of working for them for the next xxx years, so that I can cash in on my defined benefit pension, is not enough, what will convince them?

Bureaucrats, eh?

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5 responses to “Red tape”

  1. fumier avatar
    fumier

    Perhaps they just don’t want her back. Not chavvy enough?

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  2. Chris avatar
    Chris

    She’s a foreigner, innit?

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  3. Paul avatar
    Paul

    what’s a “returning resident”?
    Sounds really odd.
    Without telling us what sort of passport the person has, the story doesn’t really make much sense.
    Plus, there is no proof anywhere in the story that the person will be settling in the UK, maybe they will be moved again at some stage.
    She’s a mother, owns property and works for the company, but hasn’t that been the case in the past?

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  4. phiz avatar
    phiz

    That’s the whole point: How do you prove what is going to happen in the future? That is what I was asking the woman at the consulate – if she will not accept current and historic circumstantial evidence as adequate, then what would satisfy them? A signed affidavit from God? A video of my life from now until the year of my death, evidencing a version of future reality which is itself contingent on the decision that the video is supposed to validate?
    As for the oddness of the “returning resident” category, hey, I didn’t make it up. It is an invention of the UK Immigration authorities.

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  5. fumier avatar
    fumier

    Perhaps I could give you a reference, Phiz?

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