Visa Denial Question

Thanks everyone for responding. I wish we had known all of this earlier but now all we can do is try to rectify or apply again when the debt is resolved. The reason why we had no idea this was an issue is because we’ve been told by everyone (doctors, medical staff) that if we owed money a bill would arrive....it hasn’t yet and neither of us realized that would impact the visa. Not everyone is as informed as people on this site :-). It’s naivety on our part but since we’ve never been in this position before didn’t realize that medical staff didn’t have the correct answers either. Unfortunately I didn’t have health insurance at the time and wasn’t allowed to fly home due to a high risk pregnancy. Luckily I didn’t lie on the visa application so whatever bill we have to pay we will and can apply for the spousal visa again when it’s all resolved. I’ll let you all know how it pans out for future reference. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

It will all work out.  As you say, the big thing is that you didn't try to hide anything in the application.   

Luckily I didn’t lie on the visa application

That's not luck, that's honesty. The new rules and now the checks of their previous applications and documents, are not designed to catch the honest people. You haven't used deception and will be able to get this sorted without further problems.

It's not unknown for medical staff to tell people to claim benefits from the UK's welfare state for  their child, when their immigration status does not allow them to claim these public funds. Those that do are then in breach of their visa. They either get refused another visa, or they find out what they have done before they apply, pay everything back and enclose the receipt with their application to show they did claim by mistake but have returned the public funds they took.


If you decide to pay the debt by credit card, this type of site will have a list of the UK interest free credit cards and how long that interest free period is for.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/

They either get refused another visa, or they find out what they have done before they apply, pay everything back and enclose the receipt with their application to show they did claim by mistake but have returned the public funds they took.

I would advise anyone in this position to make a copy of the cheque, post by special delivery, print the signed for receipt and send your bank statement showing the cheque was cashed, as you might not be sent a receipt!

Please see below link. If I’m reading correctly, seems like  the OP has nothing to worry about!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/09/government-to-stop-forcing-nhs-to-share-patients-data-with-home-office

Please see below link. If I’m reading correctly, seems like  the OP has nothing to worry about!

You aren't reading it correctly, although some of the article doesn't make sense. The OP has NHS debt as she didn’t take out travel insurance when she visited the UK. That NHS debt will have to be paid back to the budget of the Trust that provided her treatment.

The immigration law changes to protect the NHS from abuse, mean that the UKVI can now refuse to give a visa to enter, or to remain in the UK, if they have NHS debt of £500 plus. To check that before they issue a visa, UKVI have limited access to NHS records and this will still happen.


The NHS (National Health Service) is a only bill free for British citizens who reside in the UK and also for those who hold a valid ILR and reside in the UK. Everyone else must pay to use the NHS or is on some type of agreement. Any of these agreements can change without requiring years to bring in a law change, as can ending or adding any free services that an NHS will give.

That article is about UKVI asking the NHS for addresses of known illegals that the UK is looking for so that these can be detained e.g. those that have not left the UK when told to do so and have not gone to their appointment for their weekly/monthly reporting. The Home Office will no longer ask the NHS to give the address of these people, unless it is in conection with findng those who have committed a serious crime or who the Home office thinks is a risk to the public.

However, the author of that article seems to have failed to read the immigration changes that were announced in January about this now being called immigration "bail". Under that change, these people can be tagged if a solicitor gets them out of detention, so there will be no need for the Home Office to use NHS records anymore to try to trace these as their tag will trace them.


It's not in the UK's interest to stop illegals from going to a GP as they might have a illness that is a risk to the British public and these diseases are treated for free to protect the public and this has always been the case.

Or they might have a life threatening illness that the NHS will treat without asking for money up front - but they will still have to pay to use the NHS. However under the law changes to stop NHS abuse, any NHS debt of £500 plus must be reported to UKVI and this will still happen. 

Any other medical treatment illegals want that is not life threatening and is not a free service (and that free service is very limited and can change) they will need to pay for and this has always been the case. They can be refused treatment if they don't pay up front.

Under the law changes, an NHS Trust can now be fined if their staff are too lazy to raise a bill but now if they raise a bill, they can now add 50% to the bill and the Trust keeps the bill money and that 50% added too.


However I have no idea what that article is on about with this following quote at it has nothing to do with  illegals???

“ people are afraid to go to their GPs for fear information might be reported to the Department for Work and Pensions for benefit sanctions.”

A "benefit sanction" is for those who are allowed to claim UK benefits but then don't do what they are required to do for their benefits to continue. These get sanctioned for 3 months but it can be up to 3 years. Nothing to do with UKVI asking the NHS to give the address of known illegals. Illegals can't have benefits. England has now ended giving benefits to failed asylum seekers and their families who have exhausted all their appeal rights and also ended giving these bill free use of NHS England too.

You aren't reading it correctly, although some of the article doesn't make sense.

Yes, I figured I wasn’t making sense of it. I think I saw the bit about the pregnant woman and immediately thought of the OP. I also scratched my head at the department for work and pensions reference!

Thank you for adding some sense to the article!


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Thank you for adding some sense to the article!

Here is more that doens't make sense  it's still called the British national health service, but a British national cannot use the NHS bill free because they are subject to immigration contol.

https://www.gov.uk/types-of-british-nationality/british-national-overseas