The UK Border Agency (UKBA) is due to released a report in August that will contain statistics on all the UK visa applications (Tier 1, Tier 2, student visa, etc). Many in the industry suspect that the numbers will show an increasing amount of applicants being rejected for a visa. The rejection rate is predicted to be the highest since the Points Based System (PBS) was introduced a few years ago.

There is speculation as to what is causing the spike in rejections. Some put it down to the tightening of rules and guidelines. Another hypothesis and explanation could be that the caseworkers in the Home Office are being instructed to be more strict and thorough with applications. Yet another theory is that there is an increase in the number of fraudulent applications as people try to game the system.

However, there is one simple explanation for it, and that is that the majority of applications are probably declined because of errors on the part of individual applicants. The common pitfalls in applications are:

• Lack of evidence of maintenance funds, or insufficient or wrong documentation.
• Inadequate information about salary and earnings
• Information on the application is inconsistent with information held by the UKBA or other government agencies
• Certificate of Sponsorship has contradictory, wrong, or inaccurate information

 As an applicant, make sure that you read through all the requirements carefully before submitting, as increasingly the caseworkers are applying the law to the letter. If you do not have sufficient and clear evidence to meet any of the criteria for the visa application, even if it is a minor detail (for example bank balance falling below £800 for one day), the Home Office caseworker will reject your application without hesitation.

It usually takes 6-12 weeks to hear back from the Home Office after applying, and another 1-5 months for an appeal to conclude if you are rejected. It is much better to just wait a few weeks or months to get all the required documentation that shows without a doubt that you have met all the criteria.