Many people want to come to the United Kingdom for various reasons. Most of those who want to come to UK have friends and families who are present and settled in the UK. However, having a family in the UK does not make one's life easy when it comes to request a general visit visa to the UK at the British embassy. The United Kingdom visas are regulated and enforced by a set of rules called immigration rules.
A visitor to the UK is therefore required to meet those rules in order to obtain a visa. During my entire immigration career, I have had an opportunity to see decisions from different British embassies in the world but all of them will have a unified format in the way they consider entry clearances.
Entry clearance officers (ECO) sometimes are not clear about how an applicant has failed to satisfy the requirements. You may have enough money in your account but the fact that you have failed to demonstrate the source of that income, your application may fail. Artificially Inflated accounts days before applying may raise eyebrows.
Most applicants do not understand these rules and how they get enforced unless legal advice prior to the process has been sought. Under the rules, the applicant's intention to return is taken to task and scrutinised before the decision is made. ECO should be satisfied that the applicant's circumstances at home are clear enough to form an absolute intention to return.
Some of the elements taken into consideration are your social and family ties in the country of origin. There is no general interpretation of social and family ties but depending on your circumstances, ECO will form an opinion based on the information provided and use his discretion to grant or refuse the applicant a UK visa.
Having an ailing parent who is in the applicant's care may meet the requirement if the applicant is coming to the UK for a week or two and arrangements have been made for the care of the parent in the applicant's absence. Some people may say that this requirement is discriminatory as it singles and lone applicants. However, as I previously stated, your circumstances will be looked independently based on the information provided.
An ECO may not be satisfied if the applicant does not provide evidence of personal and financial circumstances, or of any assets that ties the applicant to the country of origin. The applicant should always bear in mind that under paragraph 41 he is genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for a limited period not exceeding 6 months therefore an intention to return to his country of origin comes under heavy scrutiny.
Further consideration may be given to politically well being of the applicant's country of origin, for example an applicant who is applying from countries marred by civil unrest and instability may be refused on the basis that they are not genuinely seeking entry clearance as a visitor. It is very difficult in their situation to be regarded as they have an intention to return.
