Eligibility for compensation incorrectly advised for years
The complaint
Joyce’s* father came to the UK from Jamaica in 1959 and lived and worked here for the next 15 years. Joyce was born in the UK and was a child in 1974 when she travelled with her parents and brother to Jamaica to go to a family funeral. Joyce’s father was not allowed to return to the UK, and the family were forced to leave their life and everything they had built here behind.
The Compensation Scheme said Joyce was not eligible under the scheme because she was not lawfully in the UK when she experienced the loss for which she was claiming compensation.
Joyce complained that the Compensation Scheme’s decision did not make sense. She said she and her family were not in the UK because the Home Office had confiscated her father’s passport and wrongly refused to allow them to return.
Joyce said she and her family suffered for years and ended up living in poverty because the UK denied her parents their right to return home. She said her father had no close family members in Jamaica and the family were stranded as it was only supposed to be a short visit. They eventually settled in the USA several years later.
Joyce explained the trauma this caused for her and her brother as children and said they still suffer psychologically as a result.
“My family suffered for years as a result of the UK denying my parents their lawful right to return home. Imagine going overseas to a funeral and never being able to return home. My parent’s job, our schools, our home, all of our possessions were in the UK.” – Joyce
Joyce also complained about how long the Compensation Scheme took to make a decision about her claim. She wanted it to apologise, accept that things went wrong and consider her claim more quickly. She also wanted compensation for the distress the Compensation Scheme’s decision caused her and systemic changes to make sure the same thing does not happen to anyone else.
What we saw in our investigation
Joyce applied to the Compensation Scheme as a close family member in 2020 but was told she was not eligible for the scheme. The Compensation Scheme says it can only consider claims from close family members if they meet the eligibility criteria, including being lawfully in the UK at the time.
Joyce told us she and her brother were born in the UK and are British citizens. She said the Home Office was relying on its own error in denying the family their right to return home to refuse her claim.
We saw that the Compensation Scheme’s rules suggested Joyce had a lawful right to be in the UK at the time because she was a British citizen.
Putting things right
We requested more information from the Compensation Scheme. Following our involvement, it reviewed how the policy was applied to this case and found that its decision was incorrect.
It said as a British citizen Joyce had the right to live in the UK at the time, despite being overseas, so she was eligible to claim. It awarded Joyce £70,000 in July 2023.