Member of Parliament

[zalimet]

Hello everyone,

Can a Member of Parliament influence a decision at HO?

[sakura]

Hello everyone,

Can a Member of Parliament influence a decision at HO?

No, wouldn't that be corruption or something?

Your MP can write to the HO asking them to make a speedier decision on an application, because it is causing undue stress on the applicant. Or they can support your application, say, for residency, by a letter of support or something (I'm thinking here of if someone is an asylum seeker whose LTR has run out but they wish to make an application to stay). However, I read on this board a while back that if you send a letter from an MP, it slows your application down or something? Or at least doesn't change the timeline...

But they cannot influence a decision - you mean like good 'ol Blunkett and his nanny? Didn't that get him sacked?

[zalimet]

Nah blankette was another story, a story of passion but I really do not know what an MP can do.

But I saw on a parliament website the duties of MPs and I certainly saw a part of assisting with immigration matters and not matters with your neighbour and her cat.

[SYH]

I think its better if you explain what the situationis to see if a MP can be helpful but overall, I doubt it, it would have to be some kind of sensational case of HO's inefficiency at its worse for them to intervene in a way that is beneficial to you.

[ssi]

Several cases where an MP's help was instrumental have been discussed on this very forum.

For example, the very recent case of a Filipino nurse:
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/displ ... eId=162956
"The issue was taken to the House of Commons by Gwendraeth Valley MP Adam Price on July 17..."

At the very least, your MP can get things moving when progress is stalled.

[zalimet]

Thank you ssi, that was a good piece of information because a friend told me that MPs have successfully sped up or support cases at the HO.

[SYH]

Sure they can speed things up but again how can we say what is likely when you refuse to provide any details.

[JAJ]

Hello everyone,

Can a Member of Parliament influence a decision at HO?

Yes and no.

An MP can't alter the rules but can sometimes ask for priority processing or discretionary consideration, especially if there are exceptional circumstances. Such as the welfare of a British citizen child being affected.

An MP can also help to find out what's going on if an application exceeds normal processing times.