Asylum seeker waited 18 months for routine decision on application to settle in the UK

What happened

Mrs M sought asylum in the UK in 2001 with her family. She was given two periods of limited leave, up until 2012. In 2012, as she had been in the UK legally for over six years, she applied for indefinite leave to settle in the UK, which she was entitled to do. But no team in UKVI took responsibility for looking at her application and for over 18 months it was passed from team to team, and was eventually put into storage. UKVI finally granted her indefinite leave to remain in spring 2014.

What we found

Mrs M's application was straightforward. UKVI should have found a suitable team to deal with her application. Had it done so, there is no reason why it would not have made a decision in 2012. As a result, Mrs M experienced unnecessary delay, causing her stress and uncertainty.

Putting it right

Following our report, UK Visas and Immigration apologised to Mrs M and paid her £250 to recognise the stress and uncertainty that arose from its errors.