Latest news and updates
Statement on the work of the Independent Monitor - correction
31 July 2009
On 4 July the UK Border Agency issued a statement which stated that the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance Refusals, Linda Costelloe Baker, only asked for six visa refusal decisions by the UK Border Agency to be reconsidered in 2008.
The figure quoted was inaccurate for the following reasons: it was from 2007; it was from cases considered during a period of 6 months; and it was not the total number of decisions the Independent Monitor asked us to look at again.
In her last report, covering a global file sample from a six month period in 2008, the Independent Monitor raised concerns about 147 cases, including 33 where applicants had not been given the correct information on appeal rights and 35 where the refusal had been considered under the wrong paragraph of the immigration rules. The Independent Monitor also referred cases for reconsideration during each of her visits to visa offices overseas.