Home Office

[sunnyp]

how can the south arfican home office take money out of your account by mistake and say it will repay you within 90 days this was last December we have the mp helping us but to no joy they just say we dealing with it,surely they cant treat us like that.

[sunnyp]

she didn't want him to come and live here only to be able to work while here on a short visa,he still not here,they said the time had expired for the application,yeah I know what your thinking,not good,i loned her the money for it!!! and I want it back!!!

[sunnyp]

thanyou for all your help with web addresses much appreciated,will let you know the outcome,however long it takes!!!

[EDDIE51]

The way people normally do this ( if the newspapers are to be believed) is to get her OH here and then once here apply for him to stay under the 'right to a family life' of the 'Human Rights Act'. Should not be too difficult if she is a British citizen and they are legally married. Even easier if he gets her pregnant!

[bednobs]

if he had a visa, then why didn't he come whle the refund was being sorted. It seems a very convoluted odd story, and your little gem that you loaned her money makes me wonder if your friend is legit.
If you loaned it to her, she must have had pln to pay you back - why cn't she just pay you back?

[EDDIE51]

^^ Your thinking along the same lines as me bednobs. This is sounding more like a 'sob story scam', too many things seem wrong. The amount of cash is far too high even if it was taken twice and then the business about the 'South African' Home office and the problems getting a refund.
sunnyp have you any evidence that what your friend says is true? This sounds like a con job where you have fallen for a 'sob story' and loaned your friend cash she will not repay. It sounds more like a string of poor excuses for not paying you back rather than actual fact!

[EDDIE51]

Look here
https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa
A standard visa for a South African Passport holder to visit the UK is just £87.
There are other visas that last up to 5 years but you can only stay 6 months each time.

[sunnyp]

hiya guys,i did see an e-mail from the home office,she only wanted him to come on a 6month visa,i contacted my mp up north to ask if he could ask Liverpool mp to see whats going on he couldn't due to protocol ! surely to god the Liverpool mp would know by now after months of speaking to my friend if she were guenuine,why would you put yourself through all this stress?maybe I should speak to him,but he prob tell me nothing!!

[bednobs]

i still don't get why the husband didn't come on the visa they got before it ran out

[EDDIE51]

Then it is the standard 6 month visa costing £87 that is what was applied for!
How did it get to £950 ? That is 11 times the actual cost of a 6 month visa! not two times !

[bednobs]

a work visa eddie?

[EDDIE51]

sunnyp says her friend only wants him to come on a 6 month visa. I checked the home office web site and that is £87. A South African passport holder can't get a UK work visa unless they have specialist job offer . The way to do it is to get a 6 month visa and then ask for an extension. There is even a section in the Home Office web site about applying for extensions once you are in the UK.

[sunnyp]

god only knows whats going on!! he didn't come on the visa as apparently it hadndt been sorted in the time scale given whatever that is?im as fed up with it all,i do appreciate your help,she may as you say have been scammed but as I said before surely the mp would know by now if this was the case he been helping her for long time now!!

[EDDIE51]

Sorry sunnyp , I really hope I am wrong but, I am thinking it is not the 'Home' office that is causing the problems but your 'friend'.
I am thinking she has borrowed the money and can't pay it back, so now she is just thinking up excuses to give you to explain why she can't give you your money back.
All this about the South African home office that is really the UK Home office in Liverpool.The payment that is far larger than the actual amount needed for a visa( even if they did take it twice) and the MP who is unable to find any information about a refund from a British Government dept.
It is just too much for me to believe it is all a co-incidence.
Either your friend is the victim of a very large scam or your friend is not telling the truth.

Just another point that I have just seen on your last answer.
Someone on a 6 month visitor visa CAN NOT work while here in the UK.
To do so would be illegal for both the person and the employer, and result in the visa holder being deported.
A work visa as I explained is only available if the South African passport holder has a job offer for a specialist job in the UK . They are VERY hard to obtain.

[sunnyp]

thanks again,i hope we are wrong! it has crossed my mind,i wouldn't mind ive spoken to her father in sa army and husband who thanked me for helping their daughter/wife for helping her,so,what do I do?its very difficult for me,i wouldn't think she would do that to me,she goes to church! you be having a laugh now ha ha will keep you posted,thanks

[EDDIE51]

sunnyp Is it that you are in the UK and your friend is in South Africa?

[fiction-factory]

Sorry, but I don't see why or how your MP would be able help you here. It seems to me that it is the friend in South Africa whom you lent the money to that owes you the money. If the person in South Africa did pay the South African Home Office and get charged twice (which I now doubt) then I can't see why your MP would get involved and I doubt the SA Home Office would deal with him. If it was actually the Liverpool office then i still don't see how your MP could act when it's a matter affecting a SA citizen and not his own constituent.
I suspect the MP just doesn't know how to help or doesn't really know all the facts.
If you want your money back you need to demand it from your friend, seek a legal recovery (which may not be possible for someone in SA or may not be worth pursuing anyway)- or you may just have to mentally write the money off.

[sunnyp]

my friend is sa and lives in Liverpool with her son, her husband the father to her son who is sa lives in sa she applied for the visa online for him to come here on 6month visa.

[EDDIE51]

Is your friend a South African citizen then? What is her immigration status?
It could be a reason for the delay, a South African citizen living in the UK and wanting her husband to join her, and be able to work here, is a lot more complicated that your post suggested at first.

[sunnyp]

sorry for any confusion,all I know is she been over here for about 7years not sure what citizen that makes her?

[bednobs]

hi sunny, she must have had a plan to pay you back (were you going to be paid monthly or in a lump sum) her circs have obviously changed, so best discuss a payment plan with her i reckon