Extension of Leave to Remain as Married Partner visa - refusal and appeals

The request was successful.

Dear Home Office,

Please could you supply the following information with regards to your spousal visa appeal and applications process:

1) With regards to your current visa applications appeals process, what is the current average waiting time between application refusal and appeal decision?

2) Should an applicant wish to withdraw an appeal to make a fresh application, would the previous refusal affect the new application?

3) In the case of a previous application refusal, would the premium service still be able to supply same day service, or would the case be deemed to 'complicated'?

4) Should an applicant wish to withdraw an appeal and make a new application using the premium service, what is the process for ensuring the passport in question is returned in good time to be considered as part of premium application ?

5) Does the current waiting times, and subsequent detention of passport, violate any human rights laws?

6) If a visa extension application is refused, that decision is then appealed, the appeal is then withdrawn, a new application is then made, and the new visa application is refused, is there a further right to appeal?

7) Do Home office case workers who are processing applications have ability to request further evidentiary documentation? Who makes the decision whether to make such requests? Is it lawful to request this in some cases but not all, causing some applicants to be required to go through lengthy and expensive appeals processes?

8) Is there any consideration currently for putting a mechanism in place that allows decisions of refusal, which are deemed to be clerical, or administrative errors, where an applicant clearly meets all criteria but has misunderstood part of the application, to be reconsidered in a different process than the lengthy and expensive appeals process?

9) Is the Home Office currently looking at any ways of reducing the current backlogs of appeals cases so applicants aren't waiting in some cases years with the threat of being torn from their families, unable to travel, or live their lives normally?

Yours faithfully,
SK Channon

FOI Requests, Home Office

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within 20 working days as specified under the FoI Act

PLEASE NOTE

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FOI Requests, Home Office

SK Channon,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request.

This has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 38112). We will aim to send you a full response by 10/02/2016 which is twenty working days from the date we received your request.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

P. Zebedee
FOI Requests
Home Office

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FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Shannon

 

FOI 38112

 

Please find enclosed a letter about your Freedom of Information request
that you submitted on 13 January 2016.

 

Regards

 

CCT FOI Team

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Dear FOI Responses,

As it has taken so long, please could you clarify how exactly my original request should be exempt, and subject to a public interest test? What information requested would not be in the public interest to be disclosed?

Furthermore, I would like to request an internal review of this process to further explain why my request has yet to be dealt with,

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Kerr

FOI Responses, Home Office

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automatically redirected to [1][Home Office request email] for a
response. Please use this email address for any further queries.

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
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FOI Requests, Home Office

1 Attachment

Thank you for contacting the Home Office FOI Requests mailbox.

The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 provides public access to recorded information held by the department.

If you have submitted a valid FoI request, we will acknowledge your request within 48 hours, and aim to provide the information requested within 20 working days as specified under the FoI Act

PLEASE NOTE

If you have a general immigration enquiry, or require an update on a specific case, you should contact UKVI directly, contact information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... and https://www.gov.uk/visas-immigration

General enquiries should be directed to [email address]<mailto:[email address]>

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FOI Responses, Home Office

This mailbox does not accept incoming messages. Any FOI requests or
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FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please see attached in response to your Time Complaint.

P. Zebedee
Knowledge and Information Management Unit
Performance and Risk Directorate
Home Office | 3rd Floor | Peel | 2 Marsham Street |  London SW1P 4DF
www.gov.uk/home-office

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FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Channon

 

FOI 38112

 

Please find enclosed a reply to your Freedom of Information request that
you sent on 13 January.  I apologise for the delay in replying.

 

Regards

 

CCT FOI Team

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
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