The increasing rate of unsuccessful applicants suggests that the visitor visa route is quite difficult to obtain for some foreign nationals. One of the reasons for this could be the entry clearance officer who believes that the applicants coming to the UK to meet their UK-based relatives will not return to their home country afterward. This is true even for families with strong ties in their home country.
Interestingly, the House of Lords inquired about family migration 2022, concluding that strict policies of the visitor visa route discouraged people from applying for family visitor visas. Applicants are also demotivated to apply because they have no right of appeal to question or challenge the refusal of their visitor visa application. Applicants were deprived of such rights in 2012.
Moving on, the inquiry also considered evidence about different types of visitor visas offered by other nations in the world. For instance, the Government of Australia permits parents of Australian permanent residents to visit their children in the country for a maximum of 5 years at a time and 10 years in total. Similarly, the Canadian Super Visa for parents and grandparents allows holders to visit Canada multiple times and stay for a maximum of five years at a time during a 10-year period. This visa is only granted once.
The concluding statement of the inquiry stated that applicants should be granted family visitor visas as long as there are no compelling reasons for refusal or rejection. It further added that the decision to award family visitor visas should be solely based on the specific circumstances of each applicant. To sum it up, the report called for the introduction of a rebuttal presumption to streamline the process of granting family visitor visas to family members of people living in the UK.
The report also suggests that parents and grandparents should be granted visitor visas for multiple entries more frequently, and they should be allowed to remain in the UK for longer than six months at a time. Plus, another recommendation called for the reinstatement of the right of appeal to challenge refusals or rejections.
We hope you found this information helpful. Follow our blogs for the latest updates and informative content on UK immigration.
