Virginia, US
In recent years, we have seen a steady increase in the number of people approaching our office for assistance following refusals and adverse decisions. Indeed, following June’s referendum decision for the UK to leave the European Union (BREXIT) , we can expect refusals of leave to enter and remain to continue to rise. We have observed that the Home Office has been rigorously sanctioning more businesses that do not strictly comply with their obligations as Sponsor Licence holders, where there may previously have been a willingness to exercise discretion following minor breaches of such obligations.
Civil Penalties, Suspension and revocation
The result of the spike in adverse decisions and refusals has been a steady increase in the number of Civil Penalties that have been imposed (running to many millions of pounds) as well as in the number of Sponsor Licences that have been suspended or revoked. This has affected the ability of businesses to recruit foreign workers and run their commercial operations effectively. In the case of an Education Provide, such as a college or university, a decision to suspend or revoke the Sponsor Licence may affect the provider’s ability to attract foreign students to the UK. In both examples, this can result in highly damaging and in some cases fatal, adverse commercial and reputational consequences for the businesses in question.
Challenging a refusal or Adverse decision
There are a variety of ways in which a refusal or adverse decisions might be challenged, some of these include-
- A formal Right of Appeal to an independent Immigration Judge
- A request for an Administrative Review, or
- A Judicial Review
To assist with these options, Fragomen has dedicated a team of experienced private client lawyers who are there to provide an expert, initial assessment of the refusal or adverse decision and advise on the merits of challenging it. In certain circumstances, a fresh application might also be the most viable course of action for the client to take. In these situations, we can assist in preparing a strong, second application which comprehensively addresses the reasons why the first application was refused to maximise the prospects of success.
Re-entry
One prominent area of our Contentious work is re-entry bans which can be imposed on individuals following findings that they previously breached UK Immigration law and/or sought to practise a deception in seeking to enter the UK. Re-entry bans can be imposed for between one and 10 years, with the 10-year ban applying to findings of deception, which might occasionally arise from what transpires to have been an honest and innocent mistake on the visa application form. A long and disproportionate ban on the ability of an individual to enter the UK is always distressing and we have succeeded in having many of these overturned through careful analysis and expert legal argument. In many cases we have been able to show that our client has a defence to the allegation, therefore avoiding the penalty altogether.
Whatever the course of action might be, our advice will always be pragmatic and based on the most careful analysis of the facts; an in-depth knowledge of the law and procedure and experience of how similar cases have been successfully resolved in the past. It is true to say our Private Client lawyers have successfully challenged every type of refusal the Home Office can impose. The Private Client (Contentious) Team welcomes queries from individuals and businesses facing any refusal or adverse decision made by the UK immigration authorities.
If you're facing a refusal or adverse decision made by the UK immigration authorities, then please do get in touch with Charles Green from The Private Client (Contentious) Team at cgreen@fragomen.com or on 0207 090 9100 for an initial, free of charge consultation.
Charles Green, Manager of the Private Client (Contentious) Team and a Senior Solicitor with over 20 years experience advising clients in both contentious and non-contentious areas of UK immigration law is leading a new dedicated practice area to provide our clients with the very best representation in a true ‘end to end ’ service helping clients successfully challenge refusals of leave to enter or remain in the UK and other ‘adverse decisions’ that are made by the Home Office against individuals and businesses.