Politics1 min read

26 years in UK, then letter sending Nigerian woman to India: Home office bizarre mix-up

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

A 67-year-old blind woman named Comfort, who arrived in Britain from Nigeria in 2000, was rejected for indefinite leave to remain and bizarrely instructed to return to India. Her legal representatives had requested an exceptional grant based on her disability and deep community ties, but the rejection leaves her facing periodic visa renewals for up to two decades. The Home Office acknowledged the error and stated it is taking corrective action to issue an updated letter. These difficulties coincide with the newly introduced Earned Settlement framework, which doubles the standard residency wait time from five to 10 years.

Key points

  • Administrative blunders inside the Home Office continue to disrupt settlement application…: Administrative blunders inside the Home Office continue to disrupt settlement applications for vulnerable, long-term British residents.
  • Without an exceptional grant of indefinite leave, applicants with severe disabilities may…: Without an exceptional grant of indefinite leave, applicants with severe disabilities may face decades of costly visa renewals.
  • The new Earned Settlement framework doubles the baseline permanent residency qualificatio…: The new Earned Settlement framework doubles the baseline permanent residency qualification period from five to 10 years.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

A blind 67-year-old Nigerian woman who has spent 26 years building a life in Britain has been told by the country's Home office to return to India, despite never having visited the country.

The extraordinary mix-up came in a letter rejecting her request for permanent residency, with the department suggesting she could seek treatment in a country she has no connection with. The decision could also leave her waiting another 20 years to secure the right to settle permanently in Britain.

According to a report by The Guardian, the woman, identified as Comfort (name changed), arrived in Britain in 2000 and lost her eyesight shortly afterwards due to acute glaucoma. She was granted permission to remain in the country in 2022 under the long-residence immigration route after spending 20 years in Britain.

However, with her permission to stay still requiring periodic renewal, her lawyers at Refugee and Migrant Justice approached the Home office seeking an exceptional grant of indefinite leave to remain (ILR), citing her age, disability and long-established life in Britain.

The Home office rejected the request. In its…

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