U.K. grants 6-month visa to Ai Weiwei, reversing earlier decision

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been granted a 6-month visa to the U.K. after home secretary Theresa May overturned a previous decision that had denied him the visa over a disputed claim the artist had lied on his application.

A spokesperson said May “was not consulted” about the decision to deny Ai the visa and that her office had sent a letter of apology to him, the BBC reported.

The artist, whose passport was recently returned after being held by the Chinese government for four years, had posted a letter on Instagram earlier this week from U.K. visa clearance officials stating that he had not  truthfully represented a past criminal conviction.

“It is a matter of public record that you have previously received a criminal conviction in China, and you have not declared this,” it noted. The letter said Ai would receive a limited 20-day visa to the U.K. instead of the 6-month ban.

But Ai said he had “never been charged or convicted of a crime” in an Instagram post addressing the incident. The decision was a “denial of Ai Weiwei’s rights as an ordinary citizen,” the post said.

A photo posted by Ai Weiwei (@aiww) on Jul 29, 2015 at 8:43pm PDT

Ai arrived in Germany yesterday to visit his son. He will attend a September exhibition of his work at Britain’s Royal Academy of Arts, according to its chief executive Charles Saumarez Smith.

“The Royal Academy of Arts very much welcomes news that the Home Office has now decided to grant Ai Weiwei the normal six-month business visa he originally applied for,” he told the Financial Times.

Ai has long been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government and his art has brought international attention to political corruption and human rights issues in China. The Chinese government detained him for two and a half months in 2011 and kept his passport until July 22 this year. During that time, Ai organized exhibitions and events from China, including those staged in Venice, New York City, London and at Alcatraz.