How Long For Visas?

druk

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Jan 12, 2007
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Hi

Does anyone know how long it is currently normally (?) taking to process a Visa in the DR - for a DR spouse of a UK citizen for:
(1) Travel from DR to live in UK
and
(2) Travel from DR to live in Spain.

When I say 'how long' I mean from making the application to actually being able to travel.

Any advice much appreciated

druk
 

morenita inglesa

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Jan 7, 2007
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I'm preparing to sort this out with my partner this year as well. I've been in touch with a couple of people who've also gone through the process and said they got their visas within a matter of a few days. That's for the UK though, not sure about Spain.
Good luck!
 

druk

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Jan 12, 2007
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Thanks

Thanks Morenita
(and sorry 'board mod' for posting in wrong place - I
looked around for a section and obviously missed it)

We have either option - but I hear that Spain can be a bit more protracted for DR citizens trying to go there in their own right. I wondered if anyone had an insight to a request from a DR spouse of a UK citizen living in Spain.

Thanks in advance for anyone else who has any experience/insight

All the best

druk
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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You're in the right forum

You should have little trouble sponsoring your Dominican wife to come live in the UK

I assume you have all the info on how to get her there right? ;)

If not click here Information For Sponsors*UKvisas

I'm sure one of our members will post how long it takes.
 

druk

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Thanks again - Any Ideas re Spain?

Hi and thanks AnnaC for pointing to the Visa forms for UK.

It all hangs on timing - and is a complex and annoying situation bought about by Home Office and Legal reps inefficiencies that we shouldn't even have to be contemplating!..

Chances are that we may well have to apply to come over to Spain rather than UK, so anyone with any Spanish Visa tips would still be appreciated.

Thanks again

druk
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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It all hangs on timing - and is a complex and annoying situation bought about by Home Office and Legal reps inefficiencies that we shouldn't even have to be contemplating!..

druk

I'd love to hear about this complex and annoying situation brought about Home office.

Please elaborate ;)
 

Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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UK is a matter of days or at worst a few weeks - 2-3. I have no idea about Spain, but you should know that there is now a new rule which causes a problem if you fly via Madrid via Iberia. When I went at Xmas with my Dominican husband and kids they were 'arrested ' at Madrid airport and had to stay in a cell until the UK flight left and then were taken onto the plane. I, as a UK passport holder could not stay with them and just was a normal transit passenger, but because they did not have a visa for Spain they were not allowed on Spanish soil. Some new rule!!!!
 

Saskia

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Jun 9, 2005
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hiya

Yes thats right about Spain, my husband had to fly via Frankfurt to the UK in order to avoid having the extra hassle of getting transit visas. From application to recieving the visa, for us, was less than a week. It all depends on how good you are with paperwork I guess. I've heard some people having to go to SD for interviews before recieving their visa and others have bypassed this.

I'm not sure how it will work for you though, if your partner gets a UK visa then he would also need a Spanish visa too if that is where you were going to live, in fact I guess it would be pointless to have a UK visa if you are living in Spain because the 2 year spouse visa involves the person having to actually live in the UK for 2 years (no less!) to proceed and get the indefinate residency visa.

Love you hear how you get on, this is interesting xx
 

druk

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Jan 12, 2007
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Hi AnnaC and all - thanks (Story so far)

Hi

Thanks for the responses. I guess I expected that things would get bogged down in Spanish bureaucracy at some stage.

Regarding your interest AnnaC I'll try and summarize:

My partner has been living in UK for almost 11 years continuously (originally came to UK 1993 then with breaks up to early 1996 after which has been here throughout). We met, married and are living together now in the UK - have been married almost 2 years and have baby just 1 year old.

She started a long process of aggravation with inefficient legal reps and the HO about a few months before her initial 5 year permit to remain was up (Early 1999), which was just after she had been deserted by her violent first (European) husband with whom she had settled in the UK.

The HO initially turned down a application for leave to remain in her own rights, then the appeal process began in mid 2000. She was warned it could take months or even years. From starting the appeal proces and after 2 1/2 years of hearing nothing (she had been told it couild take 3 years!!) from the legal reps she began pestering her advisors more regularly- turned out (1) they'd been writing to wrong address (they STILL continued to do this persistently even last year) (2) the HO had no knowledge of her case (3) the HO lost her files (4) The legal reps had lost her files/closed her case...amongst other stuff!!!

Due to her contacts with them the legal advisors resurrected their 'efforts' (lol!!) to chase the appeal since end of 2003. Through 2004 the case passed through different advisors' hands but no progress was made it seems. After we wed in 2005 but had STILL heard of no progress from them we hassled them some more, because we wanted to travel to the DR and she has been 'tied' to the UK pending her appeal being heard, and after a few more prods they finally began to get some HO action this last year.

The appeal hearing date then came through suddenly just before Christmas Dec 06 - the case was in some respects poorly handled due to certain 'new info' not being accepted on the day, as it had not ben sent to the HO in time. But as we were advised she still had decent case for the appeal to be accepted, with developments in Law over the intervening period being favorable (we were told!) we went on with the appeal.

We just now learned it was turned down due to technicalities about what Law was operating back at the time of the appilcation being originally made in Feb 1999. Although the Laws have radically changed since - (and to be fair if it was TODAY she would now not have to wait even the 5 years - as it was then - to apply for permanent leave to remain, if a spouse of a Euro or UK citizen!! - I think it is 2 years now - and she was previously here for way more than 2 years with her first husband!)

We are getting to the point where, it seems, we now have the choice of:

Going through the expense of a new application here in the Uk (but now technically not legally entitled to be here due to refused appeal!!!) with the possibility of being turned down again.

AND THEN/OR INSTEAD:

Going to the expense of flying back to the DR just to apply to come back to the UK as a spouse (which seems MAD! Seeing as she's been here 11 years without break! and IS here now and would have to 'start from scratch' in terms of waiting to apply for permanent leave!!!)

AND

To add to the complication I likely have to go to Spain in the next month or so for a long period - and there is a whole raft of different issues and delays with trying to get a Visa to Spain directly as a DR citizen - as opposed to a DR with permanent leave in UK! (If we just choose to forget the UK - she would, it seems, still have to go to the DR and go through Spanish Visa application rigmarole and this is where we don't know how long it might take...which is why I was asking!)

This is a summary of the major points - but you can imagine we feel pretty '****** off' with the whole thing and the upheaval we are having to try and contend with along with the little one and all. In this situation it becomes apparent that 'common sense' cannot prevail over bureaucracy , inefficiency & prejudice.

It is becoming a bit of a nightmare to decide what course of action to take to keep costs down and still get something sorted out that means we can stay together/avoid a protracted seperation!

Thanks for your interest.

druk