Appeal Not Accepted

My boyfriend is a foreign national and been in this country 7yrs. A week before his visa ran out last year he applied for FLR, which he did through a solicitor.

Just before Christmas he received notification that his application was received too late (2 days late). He was told he could appeal against this decision.

As it was the Christmas period when he found out his application had been unsuccessful, he was unable to get hold of the solicitor so went to see another solicitor who submitted his appeal and sent it recorded delivery.

He has now received notification that his appeal will not be considered based on the fact his original application was received out of time.

I have known him 8 months and our relatonship is getting very serious, and we will both be devastated if he has to leave. He had already put his application in before we met.

He has now been told that there is nothing more he can do in this country.

I have 3 questions; Firstly does he have an argument under article 6 of the human rights act in that having been told he could appeal he was not given a hearing and the right to a fair trial? Secondly is there any recourse for the fact that he sought legal representation and had made his original application to the solicitor in time but the solicitor had not ensured it was received by the HO in time? Thirdly, (although I'm not sure if I'm ready yet but should have a clearer idea in 6 months time - we do talk about a future together) would he be better off leaving the country and then applying for a fiance visa?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

At this moment there are some things I don't understand! Firstly he applied for FLR ... on what grounds? What category of visa was he hoping to get? Indeed what sort of visa has he previously had?

Secondly if "A week before his visa ran out last year he applied for FLR" why are there saying the application was two days too late?

Which country is he from? You mention a fiancé visa ... is that a real possibility?

John wrote:At this moment there are some things I don't understand! Firstly he applied for FLR ... on what grounds? What category of visa was he hoping to get? Indeed what sort of visa has he previously had?

Secondly if "A week before his visa ran out last year he applied for FLR" why are there saying the application was two days too late?

Which country is he from? You mention a fiancé visa ... is that a real possibility?

He had been here on a student visa, living with his aunt. His aunt is getting on in age and wanted him to stay so she would have someone to look after her.

They are saying his application is late because they received it 2 days late. As stated he had made the application to the solicitor in time but does not know why the solicitor did not ensure it reached the HO in time. He was unable to get hold of the solicitor who made the original application for him and because of the time limit in which he had to appeal, went to see a different solicitor.

He is from Jamaica.

A fiance visa is a possiblity as we have talked about a future together but would ideally want to wait longer. If he had been given FLR that would have given us more time to decide that is what we really want.

If he has not already done so then he really does need to contact the Solicitor who apparently submitted the application late ... and ask for an explanation and their comments. Simply, what we they going to do about it?

He has not been able to get hold of the solicitor, he seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. The telephone number is dead, the emergency mobile number keeps going into voicemail. Directory Enquiries do not have a number for where the offices are meant to be. I have done a search on the Law Society and OISC websites and cannot find any trace of him or the firm. I am beginning to wonder whether he was even properly qualified.

He has to leave the country by the end of next week. He is a firm believer in doing the right thing and would not want to overstay, I would not want him to do that either.

He tried to get hold of the solicitor who did his appeal yesterday but he was out all day and will try again today.

Do you think there is anything that can be done for him? I am grateful for any advice.

Thanks

He has not been able to get hold of the solicitor, he seems to have vanished off the face of the earth.

What a terrible experience! Have you reported this to the Law Society? If someone claims to be a solicitor, and isn't, that is a criminal offence. The Law Society would probably be quite interested to hear from you.

I think you are doing the right thing, contacting the solicitor who handed the appeal.

What is the intention? For him to apply for fiancé visa? Or for you to travel to Jamaica and for the two of you to get married there, and then for him to apply for a spouse visa to return to the UK?