Home Office rejects Palestinian Jerusalemite woman’s UK visa but approves husband’s

Officials not satisfied Therese Abdallah is a ‘genuine visitor’ and believe she would not leave after visit to son in London

A Palestinian Jerusalemite who lives in London has been left devastated after a planned trip by his parents had to be cancelled when the Home Office ruled his mother was not a “genuine visitor” but granted his father a visa.

Karim Abdallah, who has lived in the UK since 2019, was looking forward to hosting his parents, Therese Abdallah, 69, a retired English teacher, and his father, Ghassan Abdallah, a psychologist, for a few weeks.

Both parents have previously travelled to the UK for academic visits without any visa problems, but in a rejection letter a Home Office worker said they could not be sure Therese would return home at the end of the trip.

The decision was made all the more surprising by the fact that her husband of 40 years, who applied via the same process, had his visa approved.

Palestinian Jerusalemites have a unique status. They are not Israeli citizens but have Israeli and Jordanian travel documents. As Karim’s mother needed separate visas for trips to London and to a family wedding in Ireland, she made one application with her Israeli travel document and the other with her Jordanian one.

She had had a UK visa application refused in 2019 based on a technical issue about submitting her bank statement as proof of her financial means in Hebrew, according to Karim.

But when Therese applied this time, the Home Office rejected her current visa application, stating: “I note that your UK ties out weight (sic) your home country ties.”

The official was not confident she would leave the UK at the end of her visit. “I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that you are a genuine visitor,” they stated in the refusal letter. She was told she had no right to an appeal or administrative review of the decision.

In fact, she only has one immediate family member living in the UK: her son. She has another son, an oncologist, who lives with his wife and children in East Jerusalem along with extended family members, friends and her wider community.

Therese was born in East Jerusalem, has lived there for her whole life and, according to her son, would not want to lose her residency status, which would be at risk if she stayed away for too long.

Karim said: “Both my parents applied for their UK visitor visa using the same invitation from my partner and me. We provided the same evidence for both of them about our financial means to support them during their visit. I have lived legally in the UK for the last eight years, work and pay my taxes and do not have access to any benefits in the UK. I am proud of my contribution here.”

He added: “As well as the family wedding in Ireland I was so looking forward to showing my parents places like Kew Gardens, which is not far from where we live. The Home Office has ruined our summer holiday plans.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on individual cases. All visa applications are assessed on their individual merits and the evidence provided, including any declarations relating to previous visa refusals.”