Visa Denied! Help!

I had a bad feeling that this visa process seemed too easy and sure enough....some *stuff* hit the fan. I have looked around the boards and not found anything that is exactly like our situation, so I will tell it and see if someone can point me in the right direction.

I have been accepted to the University of Glasgow for Postgrad work....I actually have been accepted the past 2 years but have deferred it as I was waiting for my girlfriend (of 6 years) to want to go with me. This year was the year, though we didn't actually decide for sure until late in the game. We were in Glasgow in June and have found a flat and booked tickets for going over (August 24th actually)....yessssssssssss I know we waited last minute. Beside the point now

So I have applied for a student visa....should be no problems. My girfriend bought a book called LIVING AND WORKING IN SCOTLAND and figured the Working Holidaymaker Visa would work well, since she was hoping to do some supply teaching over there....part of the long story is that in June, she actually interviewed for a full-time primary teaching job (which if she got it, she could have gotten a work permit and this would all be a moot point) but she didn't get it unfortunately. So anyways, she applies for the Working Holidaymaker because we both missed the key word about that visa that it is for COMMONWEALTH citizens....being from the US, we are NOT Commonwealth.

So she gets a "courtesy" call from the visa people in LA saying she was going to be denied, since the Working Holidaymaker is not valid for her. And on top of that, the lady said that there is really no case that would be valid for her to go over with me unless she was going to be a student or had a work permit. She is going to work on the work permit thing in the morning, as there are some possibilities, but without the work permit, what options are available to us? Any loopyholes?

We looked into the UNMARRIED PARTNERS visa and even asked the lady on the phone, but she said that one is not valid for a partner that is going over on a Student Visa. Is that correct?

Any help or advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. We have gone through so many obstacles so far to get to this point, to get denied her sucks....but like I said....it seemed like this process was going too easy....

Anyways....on with the advice

how long have you been living with your partner? 

how long have you been living with your partner? 

I thought that was just for Brits who have unmarried partners, EU/EEA nationals and those here on non-restricted visas? 

You've been together a while, Open, have you considered marriage? 

It's quite possible she didn't get the teaching job b/c primary school teaching isn't a shortage subject, so areas are able to find teachers who don't need work permits.

Students can bring dependents over if their visa is valid for more than 6 months.  Unmarried Partners, ie partners who the main applicant has been living with for two years or more, are not dependents under the immigration rules.

Primary teaching is a shortage subject - all teaching posts in England covering compulsory schooling is shortage.  Ah...but maybe it isn't in Scotland.  How strange!  I'm going to check into that.

Victoria

Primary teaching is a shortage subject - all teaching posts in England covering compulsory schooling is shortage.  Ah...but maybe it isn't in Scotland.  How strange!  I'm going to check into that.

Victoria

Check into it!  We just had an international student who graduated from a PGCE programme here in primary teaching and wasn't able to get this to work in Scotland.  She did find another route, but not primary teaching.
 

There's also a BIG row brewing in Cowdenbeath, Fife, over a British-trained dentist, an Indian national, who has failed to qualify for HSMP.

Her employers are seeking work-permit sponsorship for her, but she'll apparently have to go back to India first.

how long have you been living with your partner? 

3 years....

She was told there was a shortage with primary teaching in Scotland as well. When she interviewed for the position, she actually interviewed a week earlier than the other candidates because that is when we were in town. The head teacher who interviewed practically told her she had the job and that had they met her a week earlier, they probably would not even have posted the job as available in the newspaper. We were quite shocked when she didn't get it. It seems like with the week in between interviewing the other candidates, they decided that it would just be easier to hire someone that did not require the extra paperwork and work permits :/

Students can bring dependents over if their visa is valid for more than 6 months.  Unmarried Partners, ie partners who the main applicant has been living with for two years or more, are not dependents under the immigration rules.

Victoria

What is this from? The lady on the phone seemed to tell us that the umarried partners visa did not apply to people with student visas.

Students can bring dependents over if their visa is valid for more than 6 months.  Unmarried Partners, ie partners who the main applicant has been living with for two years or more, are not dependents under the immigration rules.

Victoria

ie, you were advised correctly, she is not deemed to be your dependent.

Vicky

Oh I see....

So what are we left with?

Would looking into an immigration attorney be helpful or is this pretty cut and dry?

It's pretty cut and dry.  As you don't have an official connection (i.e., she's not your wife or dependant), she has to make her way to the UK on her own merit either via a work permit or student visa.

Well...I suppose I am what you would call an 'immigration attorney'...and if I can't think of anything, and all the people who have contributed to this thread can't think of anything...then yes, you are stuck.

She has to look at categories to get her here under her own steam.  Or you have to marry.  That's it really.

Vicky

An immigration lawyer isn't going to find any loopholes of the kind you want either. (nb: Victoria is an immigration consultant so I'm sure she would know if there were any).   If your girlfriend has graduated in the last 6 months she could get a Bunac visa (a 6 month working holiday type visa) otherwise it's as the others have said.