Please note that the above questions and answers have been prepared from the emails, telephone calls and actual cases that we have dealt and have therefore not provided any names and addresses in order to keep cleint confidentiality.

Question:
I was a student in the UK and was given leave to remain as a Tier 4 (general) student until 2012.  I left my college because the standard of teaching was not what I expected and I returned to my country.  I found another college in the UK which was willing to sponsor me and I returned to the UK in order to apply for an extension of stay with the new college.  I was refused entry clearance and detained on my arrival because my leave was curtailed by the UK Border Agency without my knowledge.  I had to return to my country.  What can I do?

Answer:
You will have to apply for new entry clearance from your country.  Before doing so, you should establish whether you were removed from the UK or whether the UKBA recorded it as a voluntary return at your own expense.  If you were detained the UK Border Agency almost certainly recorded it as a removal.  Unless you were under eighteen at the time of your removal from the UK any entry clearance will be automatically refused for ten years.  You may be able challenge any refusal of entry clearance by way of Judicial Review in the High Court in the UK arguing that the decision to curtail your leave was invalid as it was not communicated to you and did not give you the opportunity to appeal against it.  You could also apply for a quashing of the consequent decision to remove you from the UK.  If the application for Judicial Review is successful you should then be given a right of appeal against the curtailment of your leave as a student which you may or may not wish to exercise but, more importantly, you would be able to apply for entry clearance without being refused on account of your previous removal from the UK.  You should note Judicial Review is a complex and long process taking many months.  We can assist with a properly prepared application for entry clearance in these circumstances.

Question:
I applied for entry clearance as sole representative of an overseas business.  My application was refused because the Entry Clearance Officer I did not provide a business plan and because I showed no business demand which warranted the opening of a branch in the UK.  What can I do?

Answer:
You should lodge an appeal against this decision as this decision wrong in law.  There is no requirement to provide a business plan and there is no requirement to show a business demand unless the parent company has been operating for less than 12 months.  As long as you can show the other requirements of this immigration category your appeal should succeed.  We can assist you in every aspect of any appeal.

Question:
My application for Tier 1 (PSW) has been turned down by the Home office for lack of funds in the first 2 weeks, but have not been given right of appeal. My visa is still valid for the next month?  What should I do?

Answer:
You do not have a right of appeal when you have valid leave to remain at the time of decision of the UK Border Agency. You can make a fresh application by providing evidence of maintenance for the last 3 months immediately before the date of your submission of the subsequent application. 

Question:
I applied for a marriage visitor visa from Ukraine that was refused on the reason that I will not return to Ukraine after the marriage. I have not been given right of appeal as well. Why?

Answer:
The marriage visitor visa is a sub category of visit visa and does not attract full rights of appeal. Full rights of appeal are only available for family visit visa applications (and the government has raised the possibility of curtailing full right so of appeal in these cases too). If you have applied for a fiancé visa, you would have been given a full right of appeal and the visa officer could not have used this reason to refuse your application.

Question:
My Tier 4 (G) application has been refused by the entry clearance officer. I have lodged an administrative review. Can I also lodge an appeal against this decision?

Answer:
No. There is no right of appeal for decisions on point based applications and the appropriate course of action is to lodge an application for  administrative review against the decision or make a fresh application by providing the relevant documents addressing the issues raised by the visa officer.

Question:
My application for Tier 1 (PSW) has been turned down by the UK Border Agency for lack of funds for my maintenance. I have been given a right of appeal. Can I use my bank statements from overseas bank account for my appeal or I have to rely on the documents that I submitted with my application?

Answer:
Until 23rd May, 2011, on appeal you could have made use of your funds available overseas provided that the funds were in your own name or you were the joint account holder of those funds. However, on 23rd May, Section 19 of the UK Borders Act, 2007, came into force and this restricts the use of fresh evidence in appeals relating to applications made in the UK under the points-based system.  The Tribunal may consider evidence adduced by the appellant only if it was submitted in support of, and at the time of making, the application to which the immigration decision related.
This restriction of evidence will relate only to points-based system appeals brought on the following grounds: that the decision is not in accordance with immigration rules; that the decision is otherwise not in accordance with the law; that the person taking the decision should have exercised differently a discretion conferred by immigration rules.  It does not apply to points-based system appeals on human rights, refugee, EEA or race discrimination grounds so the Tribunal could, if applicable, consider ‘late evidence’ on these grounds only.

Question:
Is it possible to lodge an appeal against the refusal of my student visa extension application and also to make a fresh leave to remain application at the same time?

Answer:
No, you cannot make any application for variation of your leave to remain when you have an outstanding appeal.  If your appeal has reasonable prospects of success, you should pursue your appeal or consider making a fresh application (although you will have to be very careful about how you do this and should seek professional legal advice) but you cannot do both at the same time.  If you needed more time to properly prepare a fresh application you should consider lodging an appeal to extend your stay but you must withdraw this appeal before making any fresh application or the fresh application will be treated as void.  Again, we would advise seeking professional legal advice before considering such a course of action as it would have to be undertaken very carefully.

Question:
I did not provide certified translations of my bank statements with my Tier 4 (G) application and the visa officer refused by application. Can I provide the certified translation with the administrative review form?

Answer:
No. Those translations will be considered as fresh evidence and therefore will not be taken into account in assessing the decision of the visa officer.