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Music and Art at the Ukrainian Institute of America
Posted by Damian Bridgeman on May 09, 2000 at 06:34:41:
In Reply to: HELP, PLEASE! posted by Brian on May 06, 2000 at 14:34:58:
Hi Brian,
This is a major problem. I am sure Steve Williams would recognise a lot of problems that I also had. As an Irish citizen I have tried to invite my Fiancee to Ireland. However with the current climate of illegal immigration and "bogus" refugees from Eastern Europe, the Irish Foreign office has seemly taken the rule of Easern European= NO CHANCE. I have had to lobby hard for a tourist visa including getting my local MP to ask the minister for Justice, why my fiancee was not granted a holiday visa in the Irish house of parliament. It seemed to me that first of all the immigration office must establish that your girlfriends case to visit England is bona fide. Firstly I would establish contact with her by visiting her and staying with her on a private visa. This would show that you indeed know this person and have grounds to claim that she is your fiancee and have a relationship. Secondly, they need to see her past record of immigration, in Ireland this is a complete catch 22. That is to say that if she has never been to the EU before then She cannot come to Ireland, passing the buck completely to our mainland partners. Therefore try to establish that she is a tourist with a record, in that she has travelled and returned accordingly to a visa and therefore would be seen as law abiding. I believe that getting her a visa to Spain or Italy is not the mega hassle it is here on these isles. Do not try anything illegal for her sake as this would be a major blemish on her passport. There is a page to the British home office and it will outline what is necessary for your needs and what documents you will need to provide. However the system seems to work on an arbitrary basis despite how well presented your case is. I assume that the British system is much the same as the Irish system. Therefore you have a long and arduous task ahead of you, be warned, I am ashamed to say I am Irish after the treatment my Fiancee got as it seems their system is Racist. Please contact me if you need any more advice as I would like to help anyone get through the hell I had.
: I am trying to fly my girlfriend from Kiev to London, but she is being told that the embassy will not issue her with a visa (no relatives in UK). We have not met. Does anyone know what visas are available and what the conditions are for each? Surely she can visit the UK as a tourist??? If so, is it possible for her to convert her status to a "provisional resident" without leaving the UK??
: Thanks.