Appeal rights for family visitor visas restricted
Changes have been announced that will reduce the rights to appeal of people applying to enter the UK to visit family members.The changes will affect anyone who has been refused a visa to enter the UK to visit a resident family member. Refused applicants can still appeal on certain grounds, such as human rights or discrimination, but general appeals will no longer be allowed. The Home Office have announced that the changes will come into effect, subject to Parliamentary approval, in 2014.
As well as this change, the UKBA are limiting the definitions of ‘family’ and ‘sponsor’ for family visit visa appeals. With effect from July 2012 you will only be allowed to appeal a refused family visit visa decision if you are visiting a direct relative. If you are applying to visit a cousin, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew then you will no longer have the full right of appeal. Further, to have any right to appeal at all then the person you are visiting must be either permanently settled in the UK, or have refugee or humanitarian protection status.
These changes only affect people applying for visas to visit family members in the UK. The appeals process for people coming to the UK on other visas will not be affected.
The changes are being made in response to a consultation on the family visa system which ran from July - October 2011. Further changes to the family visa system will be announced in due course.
Social