Teenager waited 10 years for a Home Office decision

What happened

The Home Office accepted Mr D's mother as a refugee, giving her permission to stay permanently in the UK. The family reunion policy meant that her children, Mr D and his sister, could join her. Mr D came to the UK later in the year, just before his 18th birthday. He needed to ask the Home Office for fresh permission to stay in the UK after he turned 18 and he applied in time. But the Home Office was unable to accept his forms as a valid application until later in the year, after his 18th birthday. This put Mr D into an administrative limbo. His application travelled with his mother's Home Office file for the next nine‑and-a-half years. Officials made decisions on citizenship applications from Mr D's mother and his younger sister but continued to overlook his application until his MP sent his case to us. They also overlooked most of his requests for updates.

What we found

The Home Office should have given Mr D a decision much sooner. We decided that, taking all his circumstances into account, it would have given him permission to stay permanently in the UK. The Home Office should also have had a way for staff to put things right when they came across delayed cases, like Mr D’s. We said that the serious delay limited Mr D to unstable and short-term jobs. He missed out on the support that other 18 year olds could have had and from completing his education as he saw fit. The lack of response to his requests for updates must have been frustrating in its own right.

Putting it right

The Home Office apologised to Mr D and paid him £7,500 as an apology for the effect of its serious mistakes, particularly the frustration and uncertainty we identified.