Q: My cousin’s application for a family visit visa to the UK has been refused. Will she be able to appeal this decision? Is it true that there are new rules being implemented regarding appeals for family visit visas?
A: Yes, your cousin will indeed be able to appeal against the decision, but she must contact us without any delay.
Regarding your question on the new rules, yes, regulations were laid in Parliament that will set out who qualifies for a full right of appeal against a refusal of a visa to visit family in the UK. These regulations will come into force on 9 July 2012.
The changes that are being made will only change the right to appeal, and not the rules governing who can qualify for entry to the UK as a visitor.
The Home Office said that the new rules will change the appeal rights of family visit visa applicants and that those persons applying to visit an uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin, or a relative who does not have settled, refugee or humanitarian protection status in the UK, will no longer have a full right of appeal if refused. The UK Home Office further said that only a limited right of appeal will remain for these persons based on human rights and discrimination grounds.
JP Breytenbach
Director of Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Limited
www.bic-immigration.com or info@bic-immigration.com