Mr M complained that UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) unnecessarily delayed making a decision about his summer 2009 application to settle in the UK with his wife.
What happened
Mr M made an application to stay in the UK through UKVI's premium service, which has to be done in person and requires a large fee. UKVI could not decide Mr M's application on the day he made it because its computer records showed his wife had been married before, but Mr M had said she had never previously been married. When UKVI looked at the files, it appeared Mrs M had been married before and had sponsored a previous husband to join her in the UK. Mr M said that UKVI had mixed up his wife's records with another person with the same name.
What we found
UKVI had not mixed up his wife's records with another person but it was likely that someone had used Mrs M's identity fraudulently. UKVI should have investigated the matter, established Mrs M's marital status, interviewed Mr and Mrs M, and made a decision on Mr M's application much sooner than it did.
Because of the delay in deciding his application, UKVI granted Mr M discretionary leave to stay in the UK in 2014 rather than seeking to remove him. And, while Mr M had been waiting for a decision, he was still able to live in the UK unaffected by the delay.
Putting it right
UKVI apologised to Mr M for the delay.
UK Visas and Immigration
UK
Not applicable
Apology