New Zealand citizen waited over four years for routine decision on application to settle in the UK

What happened

Mr D was entitled to apply to settle in the UK as he had already lived here for 14 years. His application was sent to the correct settlement team at UKVI but was then transferred to

a unit dealing with a backlog of old asylum applications, even though Mr D was not an asylum-seeker. UKVI did not look at his application for three years. It then wrote to him at an incorrect address and when it did not receive a reply, put his case into storage. A year later, UKVI sent his application back to the correct team for a decision.

What we found

Mr D's case was straightforward. His application should have remained with the original settlement team and he could have expected a decision over four years earlier than he did.

Even when his case went to the wrong team, UKVI continued to make mistakes: it wrote to him at an incorrect address and incorrectly put his application into storage. As a result, Mr D suffered an unnecessary delay of over four years, causing him stress and anxiety.

He was also denied an opportunity to apply for work and was unable to contribute towards household costs.

Putting it right

UKVI apologised to Mr D and paid him £2,500 in recognition of over four years of missed opportunities to apply for work, stress and uncertainty.