Asylum seeker waited 15 months for a decision on his application from UK Visas & Immigration

What happened

Mr K came to the UK in 2005 and claimed asylum. The immigration organisation at the time rejected his claim and he subsequently absconded and did not report to an immigration office.

Mr K came to the attention of UKVI in 2010 when he presented a counterfeit passport to his employer. He then absconded again. UKVI subsequently contacted Mr K, but instead of working on his case, it put his file in storage, contrary to guidance. It also wrongly told his MP that he had made a further application. Mr K applied to stay in the UK again in summer 2012. About seven months later, he started receiving asylum support, which should have led to UKVI prioritising his case. But UKVI again put his case into storage and did not look at it for another seven months. It refused his further request in winter 2013. Mr K has since applied again to stay in the UK.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. When Mr K came to the attention of UKVI in 2010, he had not made any application to stay in the UK. Under its policy, UKVI should have decided whether to remove Mr K from the UK or grant him leave to stay by summer 2011. Instead, it put his file into storage and did not retrieve it until spring 2012 when Mr K's MP got in touch. And it was not until summer 2012 that it found that it had given the MP wrong information. However, we found it likely that if UKVI had reached a decision in 2011, it would have decided that it was appropriate to remove Mr K from the UK.

As Mr K was receiving asylum support from spring 2013, after applying to stay in the UK, UKVI should have prioritised his case. However, it did not give it priority, and extended his asylum support instead of reaching a decision on his case. Mr K had to wait longer than he should have for a decision. However, UKVI refused his application in winter 2013 and there is no reason to think that Mr K would have had a different outcome if UKVI had decided earlier. Mr K therefore benefited from the delay by being able to remain in the UK during this time, and so he did not suffer an injustice.