I used to work for the UKBA and I can confirm that any debts you have in the UK, be they statute barred or not, would not affect your ability to be granted a visit visa.

 

Providing you can prove that the visit is genuine and affordable and that, on the balance of probabilties, you will comply with your visa and leave the UK on time then you will be issued a visa. If you are issued with a visa it will be in your passport and the UKBA database, it certainly wouldn't be passed onto any third parties.

 

The Entry Clearance Officer will want to see proof that you can afford the trip, wage slips, bank statements and the like, and that you will return to your country of residence, proof of employment is good for this, that's why they want your employers details as they sometimes check.

 

There is absolutly no chance of you being refused entry into the UK or detained because of any debts you may have, the system simply isn't in place to do it, the only caveat to that would be if the debts were fraudulenty obtained and criminal action was possible, but even that is unlikely unless there is a warrant for your arrest.

 

There is also no chance that an ECO would advise your employer of any debts, the UKBA wouldn't know unless you told them.

ello theoldgit :

I have come across one of your replies in regards to Visa Application UK

I was in UK under Tier 1 PSW permit until February 2014 , and had personal loans of GBP 2000 and un paid credit cards and phone contracts not more than 6000 GBP in total, I could not repay them since i left the country due to expired leave to remain .

and I have checked on the trustonline.org.uk - i do not have any CCJ against me

I am concerned this debt which I owe to the Creditors will hinder my new tier 2 (general) visa application

Kindly advise me, will this debt will come under General Grounds of refusal - under Deliberate Debting

your reply and advise will be really helpful and appreciated

Hello and welcome to CAG.

I've started another thread for you as you were posting on an old one. Please continue to post here.

My best, HB

Hello ,

I am a new user and I need some help/advice in regards with Debt and Tier 2 Visa application

I was in UK under Tier 1 PSW permit until February 2014 , and had personal loans of GBP 2000 and un paid credit cards and phone contracts not more than 6000 GBP in total, I could not repay them since i left the country due to expired leave to remain .

and I have checked on the trustonline.org.uk - i do not have any CCJ against me till date

I am concerned this debt which I owe to the Creditors will hinder my new tier 2 (general) visa application

Kindly advise me, will this debt will come under General Grounds of refusal - under Deliberate Debting

your reply and advise will be really helpful

regards

Faz

Hello I am new to Forums and I need advice in regards to below

I was in UK under Tier 1 PSW permit until February 2014 , and had personal loans of GBP 2000 and un paid credit cards and phone contracts not more than 6000 GBP in total, I could not repay them since i left the country due to expired leave to remain .

and I have checked on the trustonline.org.uk - i do not have any CCJ against me

I am concerned this debt which I owe to the Creditors will hinder my new tier 2 (general) visa application

Kindly advise me, will this debt will come under General Grounds of refusal - under Deliberate Debting

your reply and advise will be really helpful and appreciated

This is taken from the Home Office general guidelines on deliberate debting. I would say that if you have no CCJ's on record and it remains just an issue between you and the Banks concerned, that it is not something that needs to be part of your application. But you would have to ensure that once you in the UK on a visa that you ensure that you conduct your finances properly and this includes negotiating debt repayment with the Banks concerned,

"This page tells you what to do if a person has deliberately got themselves into serious debt.

You must not refuse an application only because a person is in debt, especially if repayments have been made as agreed or if acceptable efforts are being made to pay off accumulated debts.

However, where a person deliberately and recklessly builds up debts and there is no evidence of a serious intention to pay them off, you must refuse under character, conduct and associations grounds.

Declaration of county court judgments In England and Wales a person may be handed a county court judgment (CCJ) for non payment of a debt. If the person is able to show that the money is not owed they can ask the court to cancel the judgment. Where the money is owed and it takes the person more than one month to repay the debt, the CCJ will remain on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years.

An applicant who has been handed a CCJ must declare it on their application form as long as the CCJ continues to appear on the register. If the CCJ remains on the register but the debt has been paid off in full, the applicant must provide details of when the debt was cleared, or alternatively if paying in instalments, provide details of those arrangements, including the total amount paid to date."

An applicant is not required to declare a CCJ that no longer appears on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.

Civil debts or ccjs are nothing to do with visa applications!!

They only need to know criminal stuff

thanks for your reply,

the creditors in my case are not banks , but a private loan company , and credit card companies like vanquis, and vodafone contracts

i did pay the first installment , but had to leave the uk due to the end of grant of leave in uk,,

now that i got a job offer and want to return under a new visa category, my previous debt is got me skeptical in regards the general grounds of refusal

kindly advise

thanks for your reply,

 

the creditors in my case are not banks , but a private loan company , and credit card companies like vanquis, and vodafone contracts

 

i did pay the first installment , but had to leave the uk due to the end of grant of leave in uk,,

 

 

now that i got a job offer and want to return under a new visa category, my previous debt is got me skeptical in regards the general grounds of refusal

 

kindly advise

If you read what they look at. It is only deliberate debt avoidance and outstanding CCJ's you are not paying.

I can't see these debts being a problem and if you had to leave the UK previously there is a reason you could not continue repayments.

If you read what they look at. It is only deliberate debt avoidance and outstanding CCJ's you are not paying.

 

I can't see these debts being a problem and if you had to leave the UK previously there is a reason you could not continue repayments.

Thank you for the information, it sure is helping me to be a bit relaxed .. But will there be any credit checks made on me befor deciding for the grant of visa ? Will the home office do a background check to check debts or bad credit history ??

Secondly, I have not contacted or replied to the emails which I received from the creditors since I left the uk .. This has got me worried

And it's almost 2 years now since February 2014

Would not have thought that they carried out credit record checks, but they probably check for court judgements.

With most debts, it is years before any action is taken. Companies prefer to use non performing debts to help reduce their taxes and they eventually sell the debts on. They will have tried to contact you at your last known address before giving up. They might not have issued a court claim, because there was no point paying court fees, if you could not be found.

threads merged

already answered your other thread

and I refer you to post 6.

dx

many thanks for the replies guys , it surely has helped me and brought peace to my troubled mind ....

Hello :

I have got one more concern; if I move back to the UK again, how should i start dealing with the owed debt , since this would have been heaped up with lot of interest, I intent to pay the money which I surely owe, But not tons of piled interest,

How should I be managing this debt ? a step by step guide would be really helpful

Will the fact I was not in the Country due to Visa expiring, be considered ?

is there a way to actually know( who I owe and totally how much) ? (since I dont have any records)

Will they arrest me or disturb me at my new work place, chasing for this - i dont want my new employer to know anything about this ?

kindly advise ....

regards

Faz

You simply wait until you are settled in the UK and then start to see what you can do to deal with these. Because when you apply for UK Bank accounts and other services you have to supply your addresses for the last 10 years, your UK credit record will be updated with your new address. You may then start to receive letters from companies that own these debts.

Or you check your own credit record and decide to contact the current owners of your debts. You ask for information about the debts and negotiate a settlement. If you find that that charges and additional interest have been added, you can often negotiate for these to be removed. If you had to leave the country due to visa reasons you can try to use that.

Debt is purely a civil matter. They can't contact you at work regarding a personal debt.

on return, engage a rep debt management Co who can negotiate terms with creditors.

As a LL I would not be impressed by someone who runs up debt & Interest. Debts can be chased/recovered for min 6 yrs in UK.

 

Will they arrest me or disturb me at my new work place, chasing for this - i dont want my new employer to know anything about this ?

 

kindly advise ....

 

regards

Faz

as already explained it post 6

consumer debts are not criminal in the UK

you CANT be arrested for civil debts and they cant pester you at your work or through your work

it might pay you to get your credit file as soon a you can and see who now owns yours debts

but I would guess by now that your debts have been sold to debt buyers {DCA's]

they have

NO LEGAL POWERS WHATSOEVER

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS

i'd simply wait and see what deforestation you start to get if/when you settle here

then DO NOTHING

without coming on here and telling us what is going on

that has troubled you.

certainly DO NOT PAY A DCA OR TALK TO THEM.

Dear all :

Thanks for all the support and your valuable advise .. This has got me optimistic to return and more of peace to my mind , and things which were bothering me

I will surely keep updating here , and will not make any moves without seeking guidance .. Reading other threads and blogs here about how people got ripped off trying to pay back there never ending debts without guidance , sure has shook me a bit.

Once I return Is There any chance of my bank account being monitored of how much money I hold in it ? or my salary dates .. Cos I read somewhere that the debt collectors can withdraw money from the accounts ?

Kindly guide how to get hold of my credit file ..

Dear all :

 

Thanks for all the support and your valuable advise .. This has got me optimistic to return and more of peace to my mind , and things which were bothering me

 

I will surely keep updating here , and will not make any moves without seeking guidance .. Reading other threads and blogs here about how people got ripped off trying to pay back there never ending debts without guidance , sure has shook me a bit.

 

Once I return Is There any chance of my bank account being monitored of how much money I hold in it ? or my salary dates .. Cos I read somewhere that the debt collectors can withdraw money from the accounts ?

Only if you arranged a Bank account with the same Bank you had a debt with. But they are very unlikely to offer you an account.

Debt collectors can't withdraw money from Bank accounts. They either need your permission or a court order.

You are worrying far too much about this in terms of debt collection agencies. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of debts that exist. They can't chase them all.

Quite honestly, you are more likely to face problems with obtaining various services or renting a house or flat where they check your credit record in advance. You are quite likely to be asked to provide your previous UK address and agree to allow them to check your credit history. If these debts are showing as defaulted on your record, you might be rejected for services e.g contract telephone, Broadband, a flat/house tenancy.

Dear all :

 

 

Once I return Is There any chance of my bank account being monitored of how much money I hold in it ? or my salary dates .. Cos I read somewhere that the debt collectors can withdraw money from the accounts ?

Kindly guide how to get hold of my credit file ..

not in the uk they cant

so be careful upon what sites you read

always best to stick to CAG and ask any questions here

rather than the danger of garbage from elsewhere

noddle & clearscore are both free CRA file providers

Hello all :

I have been away from CAG for a long time now - since I have not returned back to the UK yet - But it will be happening soon (maybe a couple of months) hopefully

Meanwhile going through my emails : I have come across the below

From : Robinson Way Limited

subj:How much can you afford?

A repayment to match your circumstances

Dear XXXXXXXXX

Reference:

Due to:

HPH2 LTD (EX AQUA)

Balance Due: £470

Account Number:

Click here to pay

We want to understand your circumstances

Completing your financial statement will help us to understand what you may be able to afford each month.

You can do this by visitingwhere you can complete your financial statement (use My Account and Make An Offer options). If you would prefer to talk to one of our colleagues, please calls on 0345 605 1360.

We may even be able to agree a reduction in the balance you owe which can be paid over 1, 2 or 3 months. Please note that where this account is recorded on your credit file, once any agreed reduced amount has been paid this will be updated as partially settled with zero balance outstanding, and not as settled or satisfied.

Yours sincerely

Customer Contact Manager

Robinson Way

Part of Hoist Finance

A:Quays Reach, Carolina Way, Salford, M50 2ZY

W:

this debt is from 2014

Kindly advise : How should I be taking this ahead ( Ignore the emails till i am back to the UK ) or ?

I do not want any CCJ's to be raised ( since that is one thing which will surely hinder my work permit with the UKBA (home office) .

the last I checked on Trustonline on 1.04.2017 - I didn't have any CCJS on record

regards

faz

Please read the information already provided in this thread.

They will have been checking your credit record for any ongoing activity in the UK and if you have been away, then there will not have been anything recent. So unlikely they would go for a CCJ and even if they did, a CCJ would not affect you returning to the UK. It is purely a civil matter between you and the owner of the debt.

and that's a discount email...

so no doubt a lemon debt anyway

just remember a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF.

dx

I hope you will be able to answer my query. I am currently a student on TIER 4 visa, i have received a CCJ but agreed to pay it by instalments. I need to extend my visa for a postgraduate course, will the CCJ affect my application ?

Thanks

this thread is for fazm

please start a new thread

of your own

Hi,

To re assure you

My wife had to go through the full immigration to the UK process several years back in order to gain indefinite leave to remain. I can assure you, the issue of our then joint (substantial) UK debt did not ever come up, even during the fairly tough interview we had to go through at Croydon !