Challenging an Incorrect Visitor Visa Refusal

The challenge

Our client approached us after having an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) refused due to a recent drink-driving conviction. They had important business meetings scheduled in the UK and, having been unable to secure an ETA, needed to apply for a Standard Visitor visa.

The application required careful consideration of the client’s criminal history. In addition to the recent conviction, they had a previous similar offence dating back more than ten years. There were no other convictions, and all court requirements had been completed.

Our approach

We immediately assessed the relevant criminality provisions and developed detailed representations explaining why the convictions should not result in a refusal.

Although the nature of the offences meant that the Home Office would need to consider whether refusal was justified on discretionary grounds, there were no grounds for mandatory refusal based on the sentences imposed. We focused in particular on the isolated nature of the offending, the fact that the two incidents were more than ten years apart, the absence of any further convictions and the completion of all court requirements.

We presented a strong, evidence-led application, addressing the potential concerns directly rather than simply relying on the client’s account.

Given the tight deadline, we also worked quickly to secure a super priority appointment at the client’s preferred application centre. The application was submitted, and an initial decision was received within two working days.

The outcome

The refusal stated that the client was considered a persistent offender demonstrating a particular disregard for the law. We strongly disagreed with this assessment. In our view, two similar offences separated by more than ten years, with no other convictions, did not meet the threshold for treating the client as a persistent offender.

With the client’s business meetings only four working days away, we now had a very short window in which to try to correct what we considered to be an erroneous decision.

There is no ordinary right of appeal against a Standard Visitor visa refusal, so we needed to take a different approach. Drawing on our experience of working with the Home Office and our established professional contacts, we made direct representations to the relevant decision-making team, setting out why we believed the refusal was wrong and asking for the decision to be reviewed.

The Home Office agreed to review the refusal. Following that further consideration, it accepted that the persistent offender threshold had not been met. The original refusal was withdrawn and the visitor visa was subsequently issued, allowing our client to travel to the UK for their planned business meetings.

The takeaway

This case demonstrates the importance of both preparing a strong application from the outset and knowing how to respond when a decision does not properly reflect the evidence or the relevant immigration rules.

A refusal can be particularly difficult where there is no standard right of appeal and very little time to act. In this case, our detailed understanding of the criminality provisions, combined with our experience and established contacts within the Home Office, enabled us to secure a review, have the refusal withdrawn and obtain the visa within the client’s tight timeframe.