Standard Visitor Visa Refusals – Can you Appeal or submit a Judicial Review Claim?
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At Axis solicitors, our SRA-regulated and highly qualified legal experts routinely deal with complex Judicial Review proceedings. Axis Solicitors can even offer you cost-effective, time-efficient solutions and discuss and explore other options / alternative solutions that are best suitable to your matter.
At Axis solicitors, our SRA-regulated and highly qualified legal experts routinely deal with complex Judicial Review proceedings. Axis Solicitors can even offer you cost-effective, time-efficient solutions and discuss and explore other options / alternative solutions that are best suitable to your matter.
The Standard Visitor visa UK is a short-term immigration route for all overseas visitors to come and stay in the UK for up to 6 months. This is the maximum validity period of stay in the UK on this visa. You can do various purposeful activities, including tourism, visiting family, and friends, conduct short-term business activities (summits, conferences, training, etc.). Likewise, you can also receive private medical treatments, conduct academic research, and study short courses/ exchange programs.
With the uplift of travel restrictions, particularly if you are fully vaccinated, you can enter the UK under a Standard Visitor visa (except for overseas visitors from Red list countries). Moreover, all foreign visitors need to fill in an online public health passenger locator form, which is one of the health and safety precautionary measures since the pandemic started.
Besides post-pandemic immigration rules, If you are a citizen of visa national countries (i.e. List of nationalities requiring entry clearance before travelling to the UK as a visitor or for any other purpose for less than six months), you need to apply online through the UK government official site for the Standard Visitor Visa UK.
The Home office decision generally takes up to three weeks (applying from outside the UK). Moreover, the decision time also depends on individual circumstances and application status. It might take longer if your application form is erroneous, you have missed out on any important supporting documents for if the Home office requires further checks, or even if an interview needs to be conducted.
Common reasons for Standard visitor visa refusals
The type of activities allowed under this short-term visit visa in the UK solely depends on the visitor type. For instance: you can’t visit the UK through a Standard visitor visa if you have plans to marry; you should apply for a UK Marriage visitor visa instead.
Prior to form filling, the applicants are required to check if the visa category they are applying for is the correct visa category for them. Hence, applying in an unclear visa category is also one of the reasons for standard visitor visa refusal.
Consequently, with unplanned and unclear goals of pursuing activities within a limited time frame, your chances of getting visitor visa refusals are higher.
For a successful Standard visitor visa application, you must meet the eligibility requirements. Likewise, provide documentary evidence, for instance, financial proof to support yourself and your dependants (spouse and children) if included in the application. Moreover, evidence such as travel history, adequate accommodation and maintenance, address, names, and dates of birth ID proofs are also prerequisite conditions. Similarly, holders of Standard visitor visas also need to comply with character suitability requirements. This means that you haven’t broken any UK immigration law, nor neither have you been convicted of any crime.
If you fail to provide complete evidence or have an illegible form with mistakes, it will potentially put your visitor visa application in jeopardy of being rejected.
It shouldn’t be surprising to know the strict and hostile nature of UK immigration policies leading to Standard visitor visa refusals. Hence, the fear of visa refusals, including the Standard visitor visa refusals, has arisen long before the COVID-19 outbreak. There has been a steady increase in overseas visitor visa rejections.
Consequently, at any point, UKVI refusals spare no one to enter or visit the UK. In the past, even high-profile people got their visitor visas drastically rejected. The famous incidence of Salisbury nerve poisoning in 2018–an attack on former Russian colonel; Sergei Skripal and his daughter affected the standard visa application of Viktoria- cousin of Yulia Skripal. Ultimately refused her entry to the UK.
So, how to overturn overseas Standard visitor applications refusal?
The Good news is! There are several alternative legal routes to challenge your Standard Visitor visa refusals.
Avenue 1: Challenge the Standard visitor visa refusal decision via Judicial Review
It would be a gut-wrenching feeling to have your visa refused due to ‘unjust’ and ‘inaccurate reasons’. Sometimes, the Home Office decision may turn out to be unfairly concluded without any rational reason behind the visitor visa refusals.
You have the right to appeal (Human Rights cases) and apply for either administrative or Judicial review. Moreover, when both your right to appeal and administrative review have been exhausted, you can challenge the decision at the High court.
Remember, you are not alone! When it comes to facing the strict Home Office Immigration Policies.
At Axis solicitors, our SRA-regulated and highly qualified legal experts routinely deal with complex Judicial Review proceedings. Axis Solicitors can even offer you cost-effective, time-efficient solutions and discuss and explore other options / alternative solutions that are best suitable to your matter.
The Standard Visitor visa UK is a short-term immigration route for all overseas visitors to come and stay in the UK for up to 6 months. This is the maximum validity period of stay in the UK on this visa. You can do various purposeful activities, including tourism, visiting family, and friends, conduct short-term business activities (summits, conferences, training, etc.). Likewise, you can also receive private medical treatments, conduct academic research, and study short courses/ exchange programs.
With the uplift of travel restrictions, particularly if you are fully vaccinated, you can enter the UK under a Standard Visitor visa (except for overseas visitors from Red list countries). Moreover, all foreign visitors need to fill in an online public health passenger locator form, which is one of the health and safety precautionary measures since the pandemic started.
Besides post-pandemic immigration rules, If you are a citizen of visa national countries (i.e. List of nationalities requiring entry clearance before travelling to the UK as a visitor or for any other purpose for less than six months), you need to apply online through the UK government official site for the Standard Visitor Visa UK.
The Home office decision generally takes up to three weeks (applying from outside the UK). Moreover, the decision time also depends on individual circumstances and application status. It might take longer if your application form is erroneous, you have missed out on any important supporting documents for if the Home office requires further checks, or even if an interview needs to be conducted.
Common reasons for Standard visitor visa refusals
The type of activities allowed under this short-term visit visa in the UK solely depends on the visitor type. For instance: you can’t visit the UK through a Standard visitor visa if you have plans to marry; you should apply for a UK Marriage visitor visa instead.
Prior to form filling, the applicants are required to check if the visa category they are applying for is the correct visa category for them. Hence, applying in an unclear visa category is also one of the reasons for standard visitor visa refusal.
Consequently, with unplanned and unclear goals of pursuing activities within a limited time frame, your chances of getting visitor visa refusals are higher.
For a successful Standard visitor visa application, you must meet the eligibility requirements. Likewise, provide documentary evidence, for instance, financial proof to support yourself and your dependants (spouse and children) if included in the application. Moreover, evidence such as travel history, adequate accommodation and maintenance, address, names, and dates of birth ID proofs are also prerequisite conditions. Similarly, holders of Standard visitor visas also need to comply with character suitability requirements. This means that you haven’t broken any UK immigration law, nor neither have you been convicted of any crime.
If you fail to provide complete evidence or have an illegible form with mistakes, it will potentially put your visitor visa application in jeopardy of being rejected.
It shouldn’t be surprising to know the strict and hostile nature of UK immigration policies leading to Standard visitor visa refusals. Hence, the fear of visa refusals, including the Standard visitor visa refusals, has arisen long before the COVID-19 outbreak. There has been a steady increase in overseas visitor visa rejections.
In 2018, the Guardian newspaper reported how the UKVI agency ‘blocked’ the entry of Nigerian siblings, leaving them stranded at the UK border. Even when the visit was purposeful, they had to face rejection with a prime reason to attend the sister’s wedding in Edinburgh. Moreover, the Home office persistently rejected the visit visa of an African fiancé of a British citizen. He was planning to see his fiancé’s family in the UK.
Jan Doerfel (a barrister who runs his specialist immigration chambers) considered the unjust decision to be ‘deep underlying racism’ evoked by the Home office and UKVI.
Pre-action Stage
To challenge the unjust decision on your Standard Visitor Visa, you should first consider dispute-free methods (the one that doesn’t involve Higher courts). You can make a pre-action protocol claim to UKVI for reconsideration. Hence, it is always important to keep in mind that claiming for the Judicial Review to revert your Visit visa refusals should be kept as the last option.
Therefore, the pre-action protocol is an effective way of reasoning with the UKVI’s unjust’ and ‘irrational’ or ‘disproportionate assessment’. In other words, you (the appellant) can request the Home Office to reconsider your visitor visa refusal. Thus, it becomes the foremost option to be considered for reverting the Home Office decision. If a pre-action protocol stage fails, you should then move toward the Judicial Review claim.
In a nutshell, to save both your time and money, getting an expert immigration lawyer’s advice is vital before opting for either of the options.
Instructing an experienced and knowledgeable legal professional is highly recommended, during visa refusals, especially when it involves breaching Human rights and other complex matters.
Avenue 2: Claim Human Rights on Visitor Visa Application Refusals
Although this is a more cost-effective option than claiming for a complex Judicial review, it’s infrequent to consider and accept Standard Visitor visa applications on HR claims.
“If the application that is granted under the visitor rules also includes a human rights claim, that claim does not need to be decided. As entry clearance has been granted, no breach of human rights can arise.” See the guidance published on the government official website: Considering HR Claims on Visitor Visa application.
This Home Office Guidance also elaborates, why in some instances, applicants under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) have rights to HR claims (which mostly covers the rights to respect for private and family life).
Nevertheless, ECO (entry clearance officer) can obstruct entry to the UK, even for relatives of UK residents, if they have failed to satisfy the eligibility criteria per Visitor rules.
Hence, the judge at the First-Tier Tribunal solely decides whether the visa refusals involve Human rights violations/ breaching human rights. Despite the low success rate of its complex, costly, and pyrrhic nature, a Judicial review remains the most common possibility for reverting the Standard visit visa refusals.
Lastly, the Judicial Review claims can only proceed on grounds involving an unlawful decision, procedural impropriety, unfairness, and unreasonableness.
Why should you instruct our Highly rated and Knowledgeable UK Immigration Solicitors?
Our knowledge and professional Immigration Solicitors are highly experienced in admin reviews, appeals, pre-action claims, and Judicial reviews. We can advise you on the best possible option on how to go about when challenging the Home Office’s decision.
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Francis says:
Hence, the judge at the First-Tier Tribunal solely decides whether the visa refusals involve Human rights violations/ breaching human rights. Despite the low success rate of its complex, costly, and pyrrhic nature, a Judicial review remains the most common possibility for reverting the Standard visit visa refusals.
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Get Expert Legal Advice for UK Standard Visitor Visa refusal Appeals and Judicial Review Claims!
At Axis solicitors, our SRA-regulated and highly qualified legal experts routinely deal with complex Judicial Review proceedings. Axis Solicitors can even offer you cost-effective, time-efficient solutions and discuss and explore other options / alternative solutions that are best suitable to your matter.
