Facing refusals or Other Adverse decisions in UK?

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-

1. A formal Right of Appeal to an independent Immigration Judge
2. A request for an Administrative Review, or
3. A Judicial Review