Cost of UK visa appeals to rise by 600%

[theoldgit]

Whilst the issue of FAS and illegal immigrants always touches nerves, there are a lot of false "facts" being circulated on that subject, so please let's keep this thread on the topic Tony has started regarding the massive increase in appeal fees.

Thank you.

[bobrussell]

It seems that ECO decisions are frequently overturned:

Please find the data below relating to your request and note that the figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols but have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to changes. 1- 5,462,780 applications were received between 1 July 2012 and June 2014. 2- A) 4,578,935 applications were issued, ( 607,880 were refused & © 38,440 are currently pending. 3- 368, 005 applications were reviewed by the ECM, 292,445 applications were issued following the review and 75,560 refusals were maintained post review.

Source: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/234642/response/584199/attach/3/FOI%2033251%20ANSWER.pdf

This is the stage that mistakes should be corrected and this process should be included within the cost of the original visa. A small refundable fee may well be in order to stop the 'chancers'.

I was surprised that the number of 'corrections' was so high. It does suggest that this part of the system does work quite well. What is not clear is how much the ECO's learn from the exercise. Are weaknesses and mistakes fed back so fewer happen in the future.

Proper appeals to the First Tier Tribunal involve matters of law rather than processing errors. I am not against appellants paying some costs up front to stop spurious appeals but the other side of this is successful appellants should get refunds and potentially compensation for errors.

The threat of compensation should encourage the visa processing staff to perform their duties with even more care.

[crazydrummerpauly]

It seems that ECO decisions are frequently overturned:

Please find the data below relating to your request and note that the figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols but have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to changes. 1- 5,462,780 applications were received between 1 July 2012 and June 2014. 2- A) 4,578,935 applications were issued, ( 607,880 were refused & © 38,440 are currently pending. 3- 368, 005 applications were reviewed by the ECM, 292,445 applications were issued following the review and 75,560 refusals were maintained post review.

Source: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/234642/response/584199/attach/3/FOI%2033251%20ANSWER.pdf

This is the stage that mistakes should be corrected and this process should be included within the cost of the original visa. A small refundable fee may well be in order to stop the 'chancers'.

I was surprised that the number of 'corrections' was so high. It does suggest that this part of the system does work quite well. What is not clear is how much the ECO's learn from the exercise. Are weaknesses and mistakes fed back so fewer happen in the future.

Proper appeals to the First Tier Tribunal involve matters of law rather than processing errors. I am not against appellants paying some costs up front to stop spurious appeals but the other side of this is successful appellants should get refunds and potentially compensation for errors.

The threat of compensation should encourage the visa processing staff to perform their duties with even more care.

The 'threat of compensation' bobrussell - fantastic idea...we can but dream :-)

[bobrussell]

Obviously compensation is heading into cloud cuckoo land but makes sense in a well governed world. We don't have that well governed world especially the Home Office. It has been described as not fit for purpose which over and over again has been shown to be true!

With the obnoxious Ms May in charge at least some of the issues have or are being dealt with. Immigration law is a Cinderella area. Most people in the UK, including politicians genuinely don't care what happens to applicants in general.

It might just be enough for the appeal fee to be returned in successful cases!

I am still quite impressed that so many appeals are upheld at the early review stages!

[laislica]

Hmm, interesting. Our refusal said that we were not allowed to appeal!

[Denim]

Hi all. This is a very depressing thread. I came online to ask a related question about appeals.

If a normal settlement application is refused, and it is taken up in an appeal - IF the appeal is WON, and the original decision on the application is therefore shown to be in error - is the original £1,200 application fee refunded (since it was the ECO's mistake), and if not, why not ?

Tell me something cheerful....pleeeeez.

I know the answer to this without having to bother to check the facts and the sad news is that you can kiss any money spent goodbye forever.

Several years ago I had some court documents that needed signing by the notary at the British embassy. Once they returned to me I forwarded them to the court back in the UK. Upon receipt they informed me that the notary had signed in the wrong place so they sent the documents back to me in Bangkok.

I went back to the embassy and showed them the court letter explaining their mistake. They acknowledged their mistake but obliged me to pay the fee again. When I remonstrated about this their attitude was tough luck. Pay up or push off.

[OJAS]

And presumably appeal fees in the case of Thai applicants are only payable in USD, meaning an increase equaling rather more than £660 in practice?

[bobrussell]

People seem overly worried about visit visa applications. They are rarely complicated and do not have a right to appeal.

Refusals are usually because of inadequate preparation or the failure to provide reasons for the applicant to return. This can be a struggle to do at times!

The Freedom of Information request that I quoted from, suggests 368 005 reviews were carried out, 292 445 had the decision overturned at review and only 75 760 remained unchanged. Suggests that a lot of wrong decisions get made.

If these people have to find hundreds of pounds to get to review then this would be completely disgraceful. If not then the charging gets my 'qualified' thumbs up, on the condition that successful appeals lead to a return of appeal fees paid.

I suspect very few Thailand settlement applications go through the full appeal process but at least some on here have had that fight!

[crazydrummerpauly]

Hi all. This is a very depressing thread. I came online to ask a related question about appeals.

If a normal settlement application is refused, and it is taken up in an appeal - IF the appeal is WON, and the original decision on the application is therefore shown to be in error - is the original £1,200 application fee refunded (since it was the ECO's mistake), and if not, why not ?

Tell me something cheerful....pleeeeez.

I know the answer to this without having to bother to check the facts and the sad news is that you can kiss any money spent goodbye forever.

Several years ago I had some court documents that needed signing by the notary at the British embassy. Once they returned to me I forwarded them to the court back in the UK. Upon receipt they informed me that the notary had signed in the wrong place so they sent the documents back to me in Bangkok.

I went back to the embassy and showed them the court letter explaining their mistake. They acknowledged their mistake but obliged me to pay the fee again. When I remonstrated about this their attitude was tough luck. Pay up or push off.

Come the revolution...bang....but i'll be feeding the worms for sure. I think the old saying 'the Law is an ass' (as in donkey) is way too gentle on the b'strds in wigs. 'Signed in the wrong place' ? <deleted>.

[superal]

People seem overly worried about visit visa applications. They are rarely complicated and do not have a right to appeal.

Refusals are usually because of inadequate preparation or the failure to provide reasons for the applicant to return. This can be a struggle to do at times!

The Freedom of Information request that I quoted from, suggests 368 005 reviews were carried out, 292 445 had the decision overturned at review and only 75 760 remained unchanged. Suggests that a lot of wrong decisions get made.

If these people have to find hundreds of pounds to get to review then this would be completely disgraceful. If not then the charging gets my 'qualified' thumbs up, on the condition that successful appeals lead to a return of appeal fees paid.

I suspect very few Thailand settlement applications go through the full appeal process but at least some on here have had that fight!

I thought that there was a right to appeal albeit expensive and it is cheaper to reapply . I had the experience of having my girlfriend denied a tourist visa to the UK, the reason being that we did not show evidence to ensure she would return to Thailand . She has her own house and restaurant , bank accounts and supports her parents . What else do they want as proof ? Three or four years ago there was a tv programme that highlighted the visa applications from Thais visiting the UK and a big input was made by the Independent Inspectorate of the UK Border Agency, John Vine ( now replaced ) . Many men married to Thai women were unable to get UK visas for them and in some cases they had their own children .Decisions for Uk visas from Thais are not consistent . I have be told of men getting a visa for their girlfriends they had known for only a few months who had zero collateral and no reason to return to Thailand ( they paid an agency in most cases ) and then there were married couples Thai/Brit who were denied , some of whom had previous visas to the UK .

[bobrussell]

The right to appeal has been removed from visit visas in stages over the years. The last one to go was family visit visas in 2013.

The only grounds left are human rights and race discrimination.

The quality of decision making can be variable and it is likely to be quicker and cheaper to reapply, covering the issues raised in the refusal letter. Clearly so much more is invested, financially and otherwise, when a settlement visa application is made. A duff decision is likely to have massive implications that cannot just be sorted with another application!

Good review should be included or for a token charge. Full appeal at cost for matters of law!

[Rob180]

Apologies for not stating in my earlier post that the new A2 requirement is as others have mentioned, only for FLR applicants (from Oct 2016), not entry visas which is staying at A1.

I've pasted part of the GOVT website statement below:

"The Prime Minister announced on 18 January a new English language requirement for family route migrants seeking to extend their stay in the UK.

Non-EEA national partners and parents on the family route will need to pass a speaking and listening test at level A2 in order to qualify, after two-and-a half-years in the UK, for further leave to remain on the five-year partner or parent route to settlement."

As for the HEALTH CARE CHARGE, as far as I can see it's £500 when applying for an entry visa and for FLR. If that's not correct then hopefully someone can clarify the situation.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Rob180