Mum's general visit visa refused - Is it worth appealing?

[pankaj21k]

Dear Experts!

I am on a Tier-2 ICT Visa valid till Jan 2016. My mother applied for a 6 month visitor visa but the same has been rejected. She was granted the visitor visa last year but we had mentioned that she is planning for a week's stay in a hotel. In the end she ended up staying for 5 months but well within the visa expiry period. The immigration officer has rejected the visa on this ground saying that although you mentioned a week's stay but stayed for 5 months and have not provided any explanation in the current application for the extended stay. So this time he is not confident that she would not stay beyond the one month time period that is mentioned in the application.

Below were his further comments:
Now just six months later you state that you wish to visit again for a further month in order to visit historical sites and sample British cuisine. Given your previous travel history, I do not find those statements credible
Furthermore, given the disparity between your stated intentions and subsequent actions, I have caused to doubt your intentions. I am not satisfied that you have provided a full and frank account of your intentions or the intended duration of your visit.
Given the above, I am not satisfied that your intentions are as you have stated or that you intend to leave the UK on the completion of your proposed one month. Therefore I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of Paragraph 41 (i) and (ii)
Your right to appeal is limited to the grounds referred to in section 84 (1)(b)(c) of the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Given the above comments, is it worthwhile making an appeal since sec b and c relate to unlawful decision by virtue of race relations act or under human rights act respectively.

If I do appeal or apply fresh again, how do I justify the earlier extended stay since although she has not overstayed beyond the visa expiry, it is still longer than what was stated. Also this time, I would ideally like to bring my mum for 5 months again so would mentioning that harm my chances further since before rejection I had mentioned only a month. The reason she had an extended stay earlier was because we weren't sure how long would she would want to remain in the UK and thought its better to show a lesser duration rather than extended since extended duration might lead to extra scrutiny of accommodation, financials etc.

Apologies for the really long post but I had to mention all these in detail for you to get a good understanding. So in a gist my two questions would be - Is it worth appealing? If I do appeal/apply again, how do I ensure that it doesn't get rejected again for the same reason?

Thanks in advance!

[MPH80]

Appealing won't really help here.

I suggest reapplying with a letter addressing the reasons. E.g. when we applied we thought the visit would be like this. After we received the visitor visa the intentions turned to ...

We are now applying for a further 6 month visitor visa so she can ... (and cut all this 'see historical sites' rubbish if she's coming to see you).

The problem you've got is you're now untrustworthy. So the only way to deal with it is to lay all the cards on the table and state the exact intentions.

You might find waiting a bit (a year or two) might help clear the air.

[ali_asad_pk]

As per my limited knowledge, UKBA's visit visa policy is that a visitor should not stay more then 6 months in any 12 calendar months so if your mom was just returned then there are no grounds to apply again. I will suggest you to wait and then apply again later after some time. You do not need to mention that she is going to stay 5 months, just give it a bit of time i.e. few months like 4-5 months and then re-apply again

[pankaj21k]

Thanks for your replies. She returned from UK on the 1st of Dec last year and had plans of traveling on the 8th of June again so it was more than a 6 months break. I think the 6 months within a 12 month period is more a rule of thumb and not necessarily a sole basis for rejection. Would it be fine if I immediately re-apply or a 1-2 months break be more appropriate?

[ali_asad_pk]

decision of applying now or later is totally your as chances are 50 - 50 every where. I have friend whose mom returned in early october last year and they applied for her visit visa again in may, it took 6 weeks (double the time) but they have been grated

if you think that you have proper answer for the refusal reason and you can address it then go ahead but when ever you apply, make sure that you have got answer and have fully covered previous refusal reason

[bob-russell]

There is no right of appeal for visit visas. Your mothers credibility will have taken a heck of a knock. A weeks visit becomes 5 months!
You would need to provide a heck of a justification for the reason the visit duration changed so much.
Not many visas would be issued for a 5 month stay without extremely good reasons for that stay. Even if you wait before re-applying the ECO is likely to assume the next stay is likely to be of similar length and are likely to be sceptical.
Unless she has a pretty impressive excuse for one week becoming five months I suspect this will be seen as an attempt to by pass the immigration rules and the visa rejected.
Just because the visa allows up to six months visit does not mean it is wise to use it this way!

[pankaj21k]

As per my understanding, the right to appeal has been removed for family visitor visas while we applied under General visit visa so technically we could still appeal against the decision although I agree that this might be more or less futile.

Secondly regarding your point of a 6 month visa not necessarily meant to be for a 6 month visit, I tend to disagree. If the UKBA wanted people to stay for a lesser duration than 6 months, then they could have simply issued a visa for a lesser duration like some of the European countries do. I also have numerous cases of my friends whose parents or relatives have stayed for close to 6 months and returned back after 6 months. The only issue in my case that I feel was that I did not justify the overstay in my covering letter which would have led the ECO to doubt the intent. A general rule of thumb is that no more than 6 months stay in a 12 months period. As long as people are not staying beyond this duration, there is no reason why people cannot stay for a 6 month period if properly justified.

[Lucapooka]

As per my understanding, the right to appeal has been removed for family visitor visas while we applied under General visit visa so technically we could still appeal

Family, General, it makes no difference. Appeal rights for any and all visit visas are residual and limited, effectively, to grounds based on beloved or discrimination. It would be a colossal waste of your time.

[pankaj21k]

I agree that appeal rights are residual and limited. Not debating that point. My point was for a family visitor visa, the right to appeal has been removed completely while for general visit visa, you can still appeal although on very limited grounds which I have already mentioned in my first post!

[Zee ali]

I agree that appeal rights are residual and limited. Not debating that point. My point was for a family visitor visa, the right to appeal has been removed completely while for general visit visa, you can still appeal although on very limited grounds which I have already mentioned in my first post!

Family, General, it makes no difference. Appeal rights for any and all visit visas are residual and limited

[bob-russell]

Other than the limited circumstances stated in other posts there has been no right of appeal for general visitor visas for some time. More recent changes have just brought family visas into line with general visitor visas.
Pointless appealing so reapply covering the points that led to the rejection. In this case giving a very compelling reason why the visit duration changed dramatically and indicating why it is not likely to happen again!