Visa system absurdities

SIR – The Royal Navy pilot frustrated in trying to get a visa for his US wife (Letters, October 19) illustrates the absurdities of the UK visa system.

One of my senior neuropsychology colleagues in India has been banned from entering Britain following a refusal by the Home Office visa section in India to allow her to accept my invitation to speak last year at the London meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society.

The only route I have to appeal against this decision is to take the Home Office to judicial review: a costly, time-consuming and stressful exercise. The Home Office should introduce a sensible appeal review procedure. We should not have to rely on the media or the courts to overturn unreasonable or heartless decisions.

Professor Narinder Kapur

Visiting Professor of Neuropsychology University College, London