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I read about Speed Codes in UK visa refusal on V 4.2 a + c (and sometimes 'e') .

When refusing a UK standard visitor the ECA's who will use 'speed codes' to compose the refusal notice.

Can anyone confirm what speed codes are - I have also read about 'Horizon' on the gov.uk documentation, is this related to speed codes some how?

Kate Gregory
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LZNPDE
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    I don’t have a source, but I’d imagine speed codes are just a list of codes that the ECO inputs into the Proviso application system and which match a set of standard refusal reasons, for example “I have refused your application...do not meet the requirements of [speed code for relevant Immigration Rule]. From that a bespoke refusal letter can be produced which contains both the personalised response explaining the refusal and the standard reason(s) – Traveller Aug 02 '19 at 10:46
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    Or, said differently, they are just templates. ECOs don't retype full refusal letters each and every time from scratch, they re-use a lot of the text over and over again, with just a little bit of personalised details. – jcaron Aug 02 '19 at 11:43
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is purely about the secretarial practices of the visa office. How they type a letter has nothing to do with travelling. – David Richerby Aug 02 '19 at 11:48
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    @DavidRicherby yet we've had more than one question from visa applicants whose refusal letters comprise templates that have not been modified in any way. Questions about the specofic procedures can help to shed light on why such letters may be sent out. – phoog Aug 02 '19 at 12:18
  • @phoog What explanation is needed to these people beyond "Yes, it's a clerical error"? To somebody who receives such a letter, it makes no difference if the ECO was supposed to manually type out "Because we've heard you like Justin Bieber" as the reason, or type "reason 47", or select it from a drop-down list or whatever. It's easy to imagine any such system going wrong in pretty much same way and giving a blank template as a refusal. – David Richerby Aug 02 '19 at 12:24
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    @DavidRicherby maybe it makes no difference. But answers to other questions that explain how various travel-related systems work (API, PNRs, airline reservation systems, interlining, code sharing, rail ticketing, APC, etc.) improve the quality of the site, and I don't see why systems for the processing of visa applications ought to be any different. – phoog Aug 02 '19 at 12:29
  • @phoog How is the user interface of the software used by ECOs "based on actual problems that you face"? Understanding things like PNRs, interlining and code-sharing are all useful to people who are travelling; knowing how an ECO performs secretarial tasks is no more useful than knowing what they ate for lunch and whether they ate it at their desk. – David Richerby Aug 02 '19 at 12:47
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    @DavidRicherby at the moment the "actual problem" being faced is understanding the answer linked in the question. – phoog Aug 02 '19 at 12:59
  • @phoog Requests for clarifications to answers should be posted as comments. A new question can be appropriate when that question is on-topic but I just don't see that applying here. – David Richerby Aug 02 '19 at 13:13
  • I'm almost certain that the use of these templates directly affected my travel plans and lead to an incorrect refusal. Sure, the end result on the letter would be the same if the letter was manually typed, but the steps leading to the end result would be different. Could it be useful in some cases to be able to demonstrate that the ECO thoughtlessly selected a template that didn't quite fit the circumstances, as opposed to them writing something more tailored? – LZNPDE Aug 02 '19 at 15:18
  • "no more useful than knowing what they ate for lunch and whether they ate it at their desk" I would find it useful to know if the ECA's are getting proper breaks - there are certainly some quality issues going on, are they overworked and understaffed and having to eat lunch whilst working? – LZNPDE Aug 02 '19 at 15:20

2 Answers2

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I think what Gayot means is that the immigration officers use a template for refusal letters in which the reason for refusal is given in the form:

I have refused your application for a visit visa because I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph(s) [speed code for relevant Immigration Rule]

Where the [speed code] is usually a pointer to the relevant rules and requirements. For example:

Paragraphs V4.2-V4.11 of Appendix V ...

This allows the immigration officers to personalise the template to each applicant's case whilst providing detailed reasons for the refusal.

JoErNanO
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Gayot has a reputation for posting answers that imply being very, very familiar with UK visa processes. I seem to remember at least one question on meta that implied they were directly involved professionally with some legal affairs pertaining to UK visas. Thus, Gayot probably had the opportunity either to talk to the relevant visa centre officers directly or maybe even experienced the procedure first hand. I believe that unless an officer directly involved with these procedures is willing to give us a real answer, anything we can say will have to be speculation.

Jan
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    I think your answer should probably be a comment. – JoErNanO Aug 24 '19 at 18:48
  • @JoErNanO That’s a rare one ;) However, I think ‘we can’t really know the correct answer’ is an answer in its own right. – Jan Aug 24 '19 at 18:58