Surprise as MoJ U-Turn on 500% Appeal Fees Increase
Back in November 2016, the Ministry of Justice proposed that the fees for Appealing against a Visa decision, for both an Oral and Paper Hearing where to increase - and they did.
But now, in a not-so-much of a surprise, the MoJ have U-Turned and release this parliamentary statement:
''The fee increases introduced in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal are affordable for those who have to pay, taking into account the fee exemptions and waivers that apply, as well as the Lord Chancellor’s exceptional power to remit fees.
However, we have listened to the representations that we received on the current fee levels and have decided to take stock and review the immigration and asylum fees, to balance the interests of all tribunal users and the taxpayer and to look at them again alongside other tribunal fees and in the wider context of funding for the system overall.
From today all applicants will be charged fees at previous levels and we will reimburse, in all cases where the new fees have been paid, the difference between that fee and the previous fee.
We will bring forward secondary legislation to formalise the position as soon as possible. That legislation will come into force shortly, but in the meantime the changes will be effected through the use of the Lord Chancellor’s discretionary power to remit or reduce fees.''
Not to forget that the previous Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, introduced these absurd fees.
''The immigration tribunal fee rises were introduced by the last justice secretary, Michael Gove, who also cancelled many of his predecessors’ legal fee increases when he first became justice secretary'' - The Guardian.
