2015-Aug 14: Rights of appeal in clients’ letters

Visa Pak 224 -Reminder to staff about ensuring the correct rights of appeal are noted in clients’ letters.

Visa Paks

14 August 2015

Rights of appeal in clients’ letters

The IPT Liaison team has recently received notifications of appeals in which the final letter sent to the clients from INZ has had incorrect information in regards to appeal rights.

This has resulted in clients being advised they have right of appeal when they did not, and caused unnecessary distress to them as a result.

In two instances clients were advised of appeal rights when they were holders of a Limited Visa (LV). Holders of LVs do not have the right of appeal either to a Court and/or to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. In one of the two cases, the client found it extremely difficult to accept that they did not have a right of appeal once advised of this by the IPT.

In another instance the client was incorrectly advised they had been granted an interim visa when no interim visa had been granted. Grant/Non-Grant of interim visas determines when the client’s liability for deportation commences that gives rise to appeal against that liability.

It is important to ensure that letters are worded correctly and template letters customized to reflect the client’s actual circumstances.

Service Design and Performance are also reviewing relevant template letters to ensure their wording accurately reflects appeal rights.

Please discuss with your team(s) to ensure that they use the correct wording and provide accurate information about appeal rights in template letters.