Has anyone had an MP help overturn a decision

[Raymond31]

My question is has anyone had a decision overturned when an MP has been involved and asked for the application to be looked at again or had any experience with an MP’s involvement?

My scenario is as followed;

My mum was recently diagnosed with cancer and wanted to see her sister for emotional support over this tough period in her life.

I applied for a visitor visa for my mums sister and niece.
They both had their Biometrics done at Mirpur on the 18th April 2024. We got a reply from the home office on the 6th May refusing the application.

The reason they gave for the refusal was due to my cousin missing school however we sent the home office a letter of approval for leave from her headmistress and explained that the Pakistan summer holidays start in early June. The home office chose to ignore this info and still refused because they thought she’d miss 4 months of school. In actual fact she would only be missing 1 month and would be completing work whilst here. All stated in the letter from the headmistress. I personally think they have compared the UK summer holidays to Pakistan.

They also stated concerns about finances but we sent along bank statements and assets such as having a successful pharmacy business. Which again they chose to ignore. My auntie is financially very comfortable.

I contacted my local MP and councillor who agreed the home office had overlooked the documents and my local MP said he would write a letter asking the home office to look at the application again and he would point out all the documents they missed.

Has anyone faced anything similar? Any comments or insights would be gratefully welcomed please

[Frontier Mole]

MP's have little or no influence over the Home Office. There will not be a review conducted because of an MP letter.

[secret.simon]

An MP said as much in the Commons yesterday.

Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)

I have stopped the large number of so-called asylum seekers from attending my surgeries, and I have instructed my office not to deal with asylum cases, for two reasons: as MPs we have zero authority, mandate or influence over Home Office decisions; and I want to dedicate my very limited resources to putting Dudley people first. Can we have a debate on the pressure that asylum seekers are putting on our nation’s resources and local services?

[jlolololo]

Yes. Very similar situation. Decision was made stating certain evidence not provided when it was.

My MP wrote to them explaining this and they overturned the decision and granted the visa.

Hopefully you'll get a positive outcome.

[jlolololo]

This is the letter my MP got, I've removed identifying details.

Dear MP

Thank you for your letter of DATE to the Immigration Minister with enclosures on behalf of XXX about the decision to refuse entry clearance to XXX. Your office agreed to an email response on this occasion.

All applications are considered using the evidence provided by the applicant and in accordance with the Immigration Rules. XXX application for a visitor visa was refused on DATE as the ECO was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities, that she was genuinely seeking entry to the UK for the period stated, and would return home at the end of her requested stay. The ECO can and will take into account an applicants previous immigration history if necessary, however, I hope it is helpful to explain that, because a visa has previously been granted, either for entry to the UK or another European Economic Area country, it does not guarantee acceptance for future applications.

There is no basis in law for us to reconsider our decisions, and we will not do so unless we have made an error in the decision making process. For example, we did not consider evidence that was available to us at the time the decision was made, or we did not correctly apply the Immigration Rules.

However, following representations from yourself and Ms XXX, an Entry Clearance Manager reviewed the application and overturned the original decision to refuse, and as such, Ms XXX was issued a visitor visa on DATE.

We value the feedback you provide and would be grateful if you or your office could find some time to complete our satisfaction survey.

Yours sincerely

[Raymond31]

Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate it. I have everything crossed at the moment

[Raymond31]

MP's have little or no influence over the Home Office. There will not be a review conducted because of an MP letter.

It’s a real hassle to be honest, because everything was supplied and they chose to overlook it. It’s such a frustrating time for my mum at the moment. She’s really not well and wants to see her sister. This may well be the last time. It’s like the home office have no sympathy.

We covered all areas to make sure the application was tight, not really sure what else can be done as the refusal points they addressed we supplied evidence for, hence the reason we contacted the MP as a last resort

[Raymond31]

This is the letter my MP got, I've removed identifying details.

Dear MP

Thank you for your letter of DATE to the Immigration Minister with enclosures on behalf of XXX about the decision to refuse entry clearance to XXX. Your office agreed to an email response on this occasion.

All applications are considered using the evidence provided by the applicant and in accordance with the Immigration Rules. XXX application for a visitor visa was refused on DATE as the ECO was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities, that she was genuinely seeking entry to the UK for the period stated, and would return home at the end of her requested stay. The ECO can and will take into account an applicants previous immigration history if necessary, however, I hope it is helpful to explain that, because a visa has previously been granted, either for entry to the UK or another European Economic Area country, it does not guarantee acceptance for future applications.

There is no basis in law for us to reconsider our decisions, and we will not do so unless we have made an error in the decision making process. For example, we did not consider evidence that was available to us at the time the decision was made, or we did not correctly apply the Immigration Rules.

However, following representations from yourself and Ms XXX, an Entry Clearance Manager reviewed the application and overturned the original decision to refuse, and as such, Ms XXX was issued a visitor visa on DATE.

We value the feedback you provide and would be grateful if you or your office could find some time to complete our satisfaction survey.

Yours sincerely

Thank you so much for sharing this, how long did it take you get a reply?

[jlolololo]

Around 4 weeks from raising the issue to the visa being received.