If, like me, you grew up in a Nigerian Pentecostal church, you’ve probably heard someone give testimony about getting a UK or US visa. I used to wonder, “Is it really that deep?” Well, now I’m older, wiser, and sitting on a few visa rejections myself. I get it. Brother Theophilus wasn’t exaggerating when he first started with a song and then went on to give his visa testimony.
There are typically three types of visa applicants:
1. The Privileged Few: Parents took them on vacations every summer. Sometimes they did half-term breaks in the South of France, the ones who always had the latest Disney popping merch, they are most likely not reading this because visa rejection where?
Their parents built a travel history for them when they were much younger and the Visa Officers (VO) believe that if this person wanted to run, they would have done so a long time ago. Besides, they are probably loaded, which means they would not be a burden to the government even if they ran. Visa officers (VOs) see their application and assume they won’t overstay because, well, they have options.
2. The Lucky Ones: The only time they left their state was for NYSC* or a wedding, no travel history, but somehow everything aligns: good documents, a legit reason to travel, and a VO in a good mood.
3. The Rest of Us (including me, James): Hustling our way through applications, including heavy binders of documents, all to prove that we will return to our country after the trip, hoping the VO believes us.
What Did I Do to Visa Officers?
I believe that one of the best ways to network is to travel to a conference. In 2018, I applied for a UK visa for a conference, attaching my bank statement and every 126 pages of documents I believed was necessary. Rejected. I tried again. Rejected. I switched to the US in 2020, France, and even South Africa. ALL DENIED. I started thinking, “are they doing me?”
A timeline of my applications:
September 2018 – Two UK Visa applications for a conference. Denied.
March 2019 – Third UK Visa Application: Another rejection.
January 2020 – First US Visa Application: Work trip, denied under section 221g. That’s what they said.
February 2020 – France Visa Application: Another “No.”
March 2020 – South Africa Visa Application: Also denied. At this point, I was considering deliverance.
2020-2021 – COVID Break: Forced to calm my blood and re-evaluate.
December 2021 – Back to the UK Visa: But this time, I locked in. I had the right guidance and got it.
What was I doing wrong? What changed in 2021? Strategy and a stronger proof of funds. What if I had a way to show my financial stability beyond just a traditional bank statement? But first, let’s see why some of us get rejected when we apply for visas.
Why Do Visa Applications Get Rejected?
When applying for a UK Visa, the rejection rate can be as high as 50% depending on your country. I’m from Nigeria and the country has rejection rates as high as 50% while Ghana has rates between 30-46%. Algeria comes up top with denial rates at 71%. Whatever the case, African nationals are two times more likely to be denied a UK visa than applicants from other parts of the world.
I am focusing on the UK because the UK is the most straightforward and predictable application process for a Tier 1 visa. A Tier 1 (high-value or anchor visa) are visas from countries that have strong passports and a strict approval process.
A UK Visa on your passport strengthens your credibility when applying for other visas and some embassies refer to them as anchor countries because having their visas suggests you are a low-risk traveller. You can even enter other countries visa-free because you have a Tier 1 visa. The Tier 1 countries include the US, UK, Canada, Schengen Countries, Australia and New Zealand. Good to note that they are also called 5 eyes countries because they share intelligence including immigration stuff)
Now why was I getting rejected by some of these Tier 1 countries between 2018-2020? I think the most important thing on every visa officer’s mind is “will this applicant return to their home country before the expiry of the visa?”
At the end of the day, Visa Officers are also people doing their jobs, with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators, a way to measure their job against their salaries). I imagine their boss setting their KPIs to make sure they don’t give visas to people who might violate the terms of the visa. Another KPI could be to make sure they go through as many applications as possible in a short amount of time.
People like me from high rejection places would be fighting against the Visa officer’s bias to keep their job and provide for their families and doing that pretty quick as well. This means I, including you, have one shot to get it right with the VO.
I’ve been through the painful experience of getting my visa denied, and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did. So here’s what I learned the hard way and what you should watch out for:
Incomplete or Incorrect Applications
The first time I applied, I didn’t realise I was in the wrong visa category—automatic rejection. I also thought I could submit just the required documents, but I quickly learned that more is better when it comes to supporting evidence.
Everything needs to be crystal clear: your reason for travel, your itinerary, and how it aligns with your life and work. If it’s a conference, it should be related to your line of work. If you are going for tourism your itinerary should be super clear and you should have a history of tourism.
Pro tip: if you want to go to the UK for tourism, you should build up your travel history with low-stress countries that are popular for tourism like Kenya, Zanzibar, Mauritius, Singapore, Dubai, Egypt, and Israel. Not all have the same price point and for some of them, you’ll have to use a tour package to get the visa easily but they can be gotten relatively easily.
Submission of False Information
Add 10 years to your age, what do you get? Can the age afford you to get slapped with a 10-year ban if you’re caught submitting false documents during your visa application? This looks like a no-brainer but it’s super serious.
Everything should be genuine, your bank statements, invitations and anything you put in that form. For instance: “have you ever been denied a visa?” You answer no but Canada denied you 2 years ago and the VO might be able to see that.
Even when it’s a “might”, don’t take the chance. Just answer truthfully and state why you were denied. A decent response (if this is the case and is true for you) could be “the Visa Officer wasn’t convinced by my application.” Do not submit any false information. 10 year ban. Don’t forget. Trust me, honesty saves you from bigger issues.
Previous UK Denial
This makes it harder to get a first one because they have all the records of your applications. I made sure to strengthen my case by traveling to other countries, organizing my finances, and showing clear income and savings.
You want to put your best foot forward to have a strong case by e.g. travelling to other countries, getting your financial house in order, and clearly showing an income or savings which you would spend on the trip.
Pro-tip: Refer to your previous denial if any, and sort of answer it. Typically denials come with more than one reason. You can answer the more specific ones with any rebuttals you might have. For instance, if you were denied because you had no clear itinerary, answer with a concise and straight-to-the-point itinerary.
Lack of Ties to Home Country
I personally believe this is the most important. If you’re unable to explain that you will go back to your home country, chances of rejection are high. You show ties to your home country through several things.
- An introduction letter from your job: A job that pays you regularly, the bigger and more recognized the organization the better. If you own a business, the more structure and your ability to show that structure and size, the better. It’s easy to leave a business if you’re the only one involved in running it but tougher to leave a company that employs people and makes money.
- Ownership Proof: If you own properties, it shows financial resources and also a strong tie as well.
- Marriage Proof: If you’re married, that shows a strong tie because chances are, you are not going to run away from or leave your spouse (hopefully).
You really have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you have a reason to come back to your home country to be with your spouse. That’s the chief worry on the VO’s mind.
Criminal Record
I’m hoping you’re not a criminal. Please don’t be a criminal. But if you have a case or an investigation e.g. tax fraud or God forbid, money laundering accusation, practice a lot of caution with your application and overexplain everything with receipts and proof. Nothing is too much when you’re trying to explain a crime away.
Insufficient financial Resources
This one stung me the most. My early applications got rejected because I couldn’t strongly prove I could support myself.. You need to be able to prove that you already are taking care of yourself financially and you can continue to do so while travelling.
The UK government needs an assurance they won’t have to pony up to take care of you or spend money to deport you (average cost to deport an individual is £15,000). A lack of sufficient financial resources is a way to tell the VO that you don’t have strong ties to your country and may not come back.
Learn from my mistakes. Get your documents right, be honest, and present a strong case. It’ll save you the heartbreak of visa denials.
Why Proof of Funds Matters in Visa Applications
If you have a job, business or trust fund that’s taking care of you, you should be able to show it. Through:
- Regular inflows into your bank account
- Investments in different things but reasonable verifiable ones
- Receipts that are clear and easy to understand. This could be stocks, bonds, real estate, savings products and crypto.
How Did Crypto Help My Proof of Funds and Visa Application?
I became a crypto bro in 2018 but up to 2021, I never had the nerve to put my crypto statement as part of my application and that really explained a lot. I use Quidax and have done so from the beginning.
I was able to request a statement on my account and a supporting letter from Quidax backing the statement. What’s more interesting is that quite a few crypto folks receive salaries in crypto and typically save in crypto, giving them an opportunity to have a lot of their wealth stored in crypto.
The VO is only trying to understand your financial standing and if you can show the evidence in a way that’s clear and easy to understand, it would significantly strengthen the application.
As for the bank statement, 3 things are important:
- Clarity of what’s going on (income in and income out),
- The stock. You have no reason to show a huge amount in savings as evidence of your financial resources if the money came in 2 weeks before the application. You want to aim for it to be there for 4-6 months before the application and activity being the last
- If your company is sponsoring your trip, they want to have a healthy bank statement showing sufficient sitting balances and proof of activity.
A Cover Letter Can Change The Game
Let me paint you a picture. Nigeria had 225,000 applications to the UK between June 2023 and June 2024. The UK has 253 working days in a year, if you did the maths, that’s the UK Home Office reviewing 889 applications per day. I
f there are 50 people reviewing applications for just Nigerians which I doubt, each person would have less than 30 minutes (27 minutes to be precise) to review each application working 9-5 non-stop (no lunch/tea breaks) for every working day of the year. Word on the streets of Reddit says each case officer takes 7 minutes from application to decision. Your application has to stand out.
A cover letter helps you tie your application together like nothing else can. Imagine the VO has 27 minutes or a worst scenario, 7 minutes (which makes business sense) and you put 150 pages of documents with bank statements that have figures of debits that don’t match the credits.
You get paid in crypto and convert that to local currency in bits, and the exchange rate does not match when the VO checks google for the conversion rates? Remember that the VO doesn’t work with Bureau de Change. In your application, The VO can finally have some tea and a biscuit, and maybe check on the weather 🐸
Help the Visa officer by condensing and explaining your application, denial (if any) and finances, into max of 2 pages. Include strong ties, and pictures of these strong ties, your boyfriend who you love dearly and how long you’ve been dating, err on the side of over-explanation. Over shalaye is needed. Is it fun? No. Can it help your case, probably yes.
Chat GPT estimates that a cover letter increases your approval chances by 15-35% even if nothing changes on your application and you’ve been denied the visa before.
So how did it go in 2021 for me? I finally got the visa in 2022 and now hold a 5 year visa to the UK, got a 5-year US visa, and have gotten multiple Schengen visas.
Visa-Ready Proof of Funds Checklist
If you’re considering using crypto as part of your visa application proof of funds, here’s what you need to have in place:
✅ Bank Statements with Fiat Transactions: Regularly cash out to your bank to show consistent fiat balances.
✅ Exchange Statements – Request official account statements from Quidax.
✅ Source of Funds Explanation: Be prepared to explain how you acquired the crypto (trading, investments, salary, etc.)
✅ Diversity of Funds: Have a mix of traditional savings and crypto to strengthen your case.
Now I’m not saying categorically that trading crypto on Quidax or saving on Quidax guarantees a visa but they have a boss too so they’ll want to know I told you to trade crypto on Quidax.
James,
Sipping Hot Tea By River Thames and Refreshing My Portfolio
Disclaimer
It’s important to note that while James’ experience with using cryptocurrency statements was positive, the acceptance of such documents varies significantly among visa officers and embassies. Visa policies are subject to change, and it is important to verify the latest requirements with the relevant embassy or consulate directly.
Cryptocurrency statements should ideally supplement, not replace, traditional proof of funds, and their acceptance is at the discretion of the visa officer. Always prioritize official embassy websites for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
