Successful pre-action protocol outcome following an illegal refusal of a UK visit visa application

By Eylem Kara

Eylem Kara is a Paralegal in the Immigration Department. Full of promise and imbued with determination and passion for helping clients, she has an extremely bright future ahead of her. Studying at Regent’s University, Coventry University, BPP Law School and the University of Law, she also already has years of experience under her belt. She is a rising star in the industry, and extremely knowledgeable in immigration law.

A decision letter from the Home Office refusing your visa application is surely not something anyone would like to receive or see. However, it is certainly more disturbing when the reasons for refusal are completely illegal and incorrect. This is something that is unfortunately not as uncommon as one might think. Our immigration lawyers team is confident in advising and assisting on not only the visit visa application itself, but also the aftermath just in case the Home Office makes a wrong decision. We understand and appreciate our clients’ concerns and therefore endeavour to provide the best client care service we can by obtaining the desired result. Below is a summary of a recent case we represented and successfully obtained the visa for.

Our Immigration department was initially approached by a client following her visitors visa application refusal. The application was submitted personally by the client without any legal advice or representation. After considering the UKVI refusal reasons, we advised our client that the decision was in fact a correct one. After taking our clients full instructions we advised her that the Home Office were correct in refusing the application as she had failed to provide mandatory evidence demonstrating the purpose of her UK visit intention and her ties to the Home Country. We therefore suggested that we can take on the case and represent our client for a fresh application because having a previous refusal complicates the situation. We were therefore instructed to advice our client, prepare her application, review evidence and draft a solid letter of representation explaining the application circumstances. Our lawyers assisted and guided our client with care and thoroughness to make sure the Home Office could not find a reason to refuse the application again. Thus, if you are looking to apply for a visitors visa to enter the UK for any permitted reason, we suggest you contact our Immigration lawyers who will be able to assess your circumstances and advice you on the requirements and process. Contacting us before submitting your application will save you time and money as if you meet the requirements and can provide the documents needed, you will reduce the risks of having your application refused. It is complicated for us a cover each and every requirement for a tourist visa in this article, however, we have listed below some points to take general care of.

Visit visa refusal reasons

So, what are the most common reasons for visit visa refusals?

1. Evidence of ties to country of nationality/residence.

• • This can be demonstrated through your family, career or academic relations.

2. Evidence relating to the purpose of your visit to the UK and how you will spend your proposed time in the UK.

• • This can be for tourism, to visit family or friends, to attend certain business activities or any other permitted activity.

3. Evidence of your maintenance and accommodation

• • This can be demonstrated via where you will stay and whether you can cover the costs to do so. Such as a hotel booking or a letter from family, if you will be staying with them.
  • You will also need to prove that you will cover your air fare, personal expenses, and medical costs while in the UK. This can be evidenced through your income, savings or through your financial sponsor, if you have one.

4. Evidence demonstrating your financial situation in your country of nationality/residence.

• • This can be evidenced through your circumstances back home, covering your income and outgoings.

5. Finally, as raised in every refusal letter, you must convince the caseworker that you will leave the UK at the end of your visit.

• • This is usually demonstrated through the documents supplied to cover the above mentioned points. For example, you may have a job, family or university you must return to.

The type of documents you provide to address the above points will depend on your personal circumstances. Our Immigration Lawyers will provide you with guidance on which documents you must prepare.

Applying for UK visit visa after refusal

We treated our clients case as a fresh one, disregarding her initial refusal reasons. We had to assess the file in full taking into account her overall situation. We advised our client and provided her with the list of documents we need for the application. We were in constant contact and guided our client whenever needed. Once our client provided us with all of the requested evidence, we considered and evaluated these. We were then able to inform our client of the risks of her application and what needed to be amended. Once we were happy with the documentation provided, we prepared an application covering letter to support our client’s application. This letter explained our client’s initial refusal and how she met the requirements, with reference to the evidence provided. In this particular case, the Home Office refused our application even though all requirements were clearly met.

Following our fresh application, the Home Office refused our client’s application again, however, this time they were wrong in doing so. The Home Office was claiming that our client had not provided evidence of her finances and how she will cover her expenses for the UK visit. We were confident that our client met the requirements and provided all of the necessary documents needed, as we had done so ourselves.

Visit visa refusal: How to challenge decisions

Visit visa refusals do not carry appeal right, so you cannot appeal visit visa refusal. Nor do they have a right to administrative review. The only option is to challenge it by way of threatening a Judicial Review. This does not mean that the Judicial Review will be needed. Often enough, a pre-action letter (done as part of pre-action protocol) is sufficient to overturn the decision.

In the present case, we explained the pre-action protocol and JR process to our client and obtained their instructions.  We prepared strong grounds for a pre-action protocol explaining how and why the Home Office was wrong in refusing the application. When considering the reasons for refusal letter, it came to our immediate attention that the Home Office had not considered the evidence we provided and as a result ignored some of the documents provided. For example, the financial documents had been ignored and not considered at all. Failing to consider available evidence makes a decision illegal and is a ground for overturning it. This was put forward to the Home Office in our pre-action letter.

Considering the numerous errors that led to the refusal decision, we informed the Home Office that we will be initiating JR proceedings if needed. Following our pre-action protocol application, the Home Office contacted us agreeing to rectify their illegal decision and issue our client with a visit visa. Therefore, we were able to overturn the refusal at the pre-action protocol stage. Our client happily entered the UK with her visitors visa.

If your UK visit visa has been refused or you are concerned that a previous refusal might play a negative role, get in touch with our expert immigration lawyers. Call us on 020 3372 5125 or contact us by filling in our form.