The new Immigration Act has now been passed into law :

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/immigration-bill-becomes-law

This will mean that there are no longer any appeals in settlement visa applications, as soon as the Act is enforced. I cannot see an enactment date, but it may be immediate. It will not be retrospective.

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Worth noting that the new act addresses a lot of issues that have made immigration a political hot potatoe.

"The Immigration Act 2014 contains 77 clauses and makes fundamental changes to how our immigration system functions.

It will limit the factors which draw illegal migrants to the UK, make it easier to remove those with no right to be here and ensure the Courts have regard to Parliaments view of what the public interest requires when considering Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in immigration cases."

Strange (or not!) that all discussions relating to loss of appeal rights is linked to 'bad immigrants' rather than genuine applications. From the way it is phrased you would think the only people affected would be criminals and illegal immigrants!

One possible speck of light on the horizon is:

" Where an immigration application is wrongly refused because of casework

error it will be corrected by a less costly and quicker process."

That might answer many of the complaints if a proper review system is created. Sadly the track record is not inspiring.

Presumably this change would bring settlement visas under the remit of the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. He does have a pretty good record of identifying UKBA/UKVI weaknesses.

They have made it very difficult to identify the four applications that can still be appealed!

Strange (or not!) that all discussions relating to loss of appeal rights is linked to 'bad immigrants' rather than genuine applications. From the way it is phrased you would think the only people affected would be criminals and illegal immigrants!

One possible speck of light on the horizon is:

" Where an immigration application is wrongly refused because of casework

error it will be corrected by a less costly and quicker process."

That might answer many of the complaints if a proper review system is created. Sadly the track record is not inspiring.

Presumably this change would bring settlement visas under the remit of the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. He does have a pretty good record of identifying UKBA/UKVI weaknesses.

I believe the "less costly and quicker process" will be the administrative review process. It means that you can challenge the decision ( within certain limits) with the visa section that made the decision. You will have to pay a fee, which will correspond roughly to the current appeal fee.

I can immediately see two things wrong, and there will surely be more :

If you "win" and the decision is overturned, then you will not get a refund of the fee. At present if you win an appeal, the Judge can award the fee cost back to you.

The review will be carried out by the same office that made the original refusal decision, not by an independent authority as at present. There needs to be some transparency in this process

In the various accompanying notes to this legislation I have read, it seems that the decision maker will not be the officer who conducts the review. Additionally, and this is the rub, the review will only be expected to deal with simple casework errors. Making representations using established case law as an argument to overturn a flawed decision is not what I think they have in mind.

Heaping more pressure upon applicants forking out nearly £1000 a time without a safety net is just one more turn of the screw.

The message is clear; if in any doubt, don't apply.

In the various accompanying notes to this legislation I have read, it seems that the decision maker will not be the officer who conducts the review. Additionally, and this is the rub, the review will only be expected to deal with simple casework errors. Making representations using established case law as an argument to overturn a flawed decision is not what I think they have in mind.

Heaping more pressure upon applicants forking out nearly £1000 a time without a safety net is just one more turn of the screw.

The message is clear; if in any doubt, don't apply.

There must surely be something fundamentally wrong with having to pay a fee to point out that the ECO has made a "casework error " ?

It has always been policy that the decision maker doesn't conduct the review of his own decision, but there must be concerns about the review being carried out "in house", even if the review is carried out by a more senior grade. In Bangkok visa section, for instance, at least 3 of the ECO's are dependants of visa section managers, so an ECM could well be reviewing his colleague's partner's, refusal decision., and that must surely raise concerns about the transparency of the whole review system.

As I said before elsewhere, it's all about the money. Well, that and gleaning votes for coalition members.

The JR process will be expedited once all the existing appeal rights are mopped up and applications should theoretically revert to the schedule that prevailed a year ago. The cost to challenge UKVI decisions may even decrease as lawyers compete for the new business in the absence of that appeals work. In any event, taking into account the pre-action protocol letter and subsequent settlement of the grounds of the initial application seeking leave to move the cost will probably hit £1,500 at a minimum.

Of course, the propaganda currently put out by May and her spin doctors will simply lump such applicants into the category of those who have no right to stay, scarcely above the illegal entrant immigrant rapist, for the only reason they have been refused, whether lawfully or not. Quite Kafkaesque but then, when the executive assumes absolute power such a state of affairs becomes the norm. The in country applicants are truly facing a terrible prospect. Fight for your rights and risk insolvency or have your family split asunder. And the sad fact is, the British people at large don't care one jot.

Members come onto the Forum for up to date information and advice on current issues and applications and whilst reasoned views are always welcome, sanctimonious and right wing views designed to inflame have no place here.

I have removed a post I find particularly offensive, and whilst everyone is entitled to their views this isn't the place to air views of that ilk..

I have also removed a couple of reasoned responses, and I apologise to the members who took the time to respond.