Border Force were right to send woman back to USA but caused her stress at the airport

What happened

Ms H, who is from the USA, came to the UK in early 2013 hoping to enter the UK for six months as a visitor. She had previously been studying in the UK and had married her husband who is British. Border Force was not satisfied that Ms H was a genuine visitor, and refused her entry. Its decision was based on various factors, including her immigration history; she had no return ticket; she was applying to study; she had recently married and did not have entry clearance as a spouse; her financial situation; she held a UK bank account; and her plans to return to the flat she shared with her husband. Border Force allowed Ms H to stay with her husband for 36 hours before she had to return to the airport in the early hours of the morning to catch a return flight to the USA.

She complained about Border Force's decision to refuse to let her enter the UK as a visitor. Ms H also said that when she arrived at the airport the next morning there were long delays before she was able to get anyone from Border Force to return her passport and help her check-in for her flight. She said the experience caused her distress and worsened her anxiety and depression.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. Border Force had to establish, based on all the evidence before them, whether Ms H was a genuine visitor and intended to leave at the end of her stay. We thought the evidence it considered was open to different interpretations. However, based on the information Border Force had, we could not say its decision to refuse Ms H entry was completely unreasonable.

However, we did not doubt Ms H's account that when she returned to the airport no one from Border Force was on hand to return her passport and help her check-in. As a result, she had to rush to catch her flight which caused her unnecessary distress and anxiety. Border Force should have had proper processes in place to make sure that people it decides must leave the country are able to do so.

Putting it right

Border Force apologised to Ms H and her husband for the stress and anxiety caused by its failure to have effective processes in place when Ms H returned to the airport. It also showed what it had done to learn from this case and to make sure that these failings do not happen again.