Mr J complained about UK Visas and Immigration's (UKVI) delay in making a decision on his application. He said that he had to live in temporary accommodation for asylum seekers, and that the delay had affected his health.
What happened
Mr J, a Kurd from Iran, came to the UK in 2004 and claimed asylum. Immigration officials rejected his claim and he later left the UK without telling UKVI's predecessor organisation. He came back to the UK at an unknown date and applied to stay on four further occasions, but his application was rejected each time. Immigration authorities asked Mr J to make arrangements to leave the UK.
Mr J applied to stay again for a fifth time in early 2013. Shortly afterwards, he started receiving asylum support, which should have led to UKVI prioritising his case. But UKVI put his case into storage and did not look at it for eight months. It refused his further request in autumn 2013. Mr J has since applied again to stay in the UK.
What we found
Because Mr J was receiving asylum support from early 2013, UKVI should have prioritised his case. However, it did not do so and extended his asylum support instead of deciding his case. Mr J had to wait longer than he should have for a decision. However, UKVI had rejected all his previous applications and when it reached a decision on his early 2013 application, it refused him again. There is no reason to think that, had this application been dealt with quickly there would have been a positive outcome. Thus, Mr J benefitted from UKVI's delays because he was able to stay in the UK during that time. He did not suffer an injustice and we partly upheld his complaint.
Putting it right
We did not make any recommendations.
UK Visas and Immigration
UK
Not applicable
Apology