‘Wrecking our lives’: Foreign nationals unable to work or see dying relatives because of visa gridlock

‘I feel guilt and desperation every day knowing that my family needs my support, but I cannot promise them I will be there soon,’ says Elif Gunes, who cannot visit her dying father because of visa system delays

Turkish national Elif Gunes, left, said she was feeling 'desperate' because, due to visa biometric delays, she and her husband Emre were unable to visit Elif's father, who is battling with cancer and has been in a critical state since 13 July (Emre Gunes)

A gridlock in the UK’s visa processing system has left people unable to work or travel to see dying relatives during the pandemic despite being legally resident, prompting renewed criticism of the Home Office’s privatised visa service.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of foreign nationals have been left in a “state of limbo” after being informed that although visa centres have reopened, they must continue to wait before they can proceed with submitting their biometrics.

Foreign nationals in the UK are required to submit their biometric information, such as fingerprints, in order to obtain a visa. This process usually takes place in centres across the country run by firm Sopra Steria, which is contracted by the Home Office to deliver the service.

Before the private company took over the contract last year, applicants could go to their local post office to provide biometric data. Under Sopra Steria’s service, they must attend one of six “core centres” across the country that offer a free service, or one of another 51 that usually charge a fee starting from £69.99.

However, these centres were closed in March because of the lockdown, putting the process on hold. A phased reopening of the centres began on 1 June, but nearly two months on, many applicants are still “in limbo”.

At the start of July, the Home Office informed applicants who had previously applied for UK visas that they would be put through a new process which would reuse biometrics they had submitted previously, and that therefore they could not book an appointment at one of the visa centres. But there has been no update since on when this new process will begin.

Meanwhile, first-time applicants, who can still book appointments, have found that there are no free appointments being offered by Sopra Steria, despite the fact that all core centres are supposed to provide slots without charge. This has left some unable to afford to submit their biometrics, or having to travel long distances to do so.

David Pountney, senior solicitor at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), told The Independent there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people in this situation.

“Without having that current, valid immigration document, people run into difficulties. People don’t have the documents and they don’t have anything else they can use to prove their right to be here,” he said.

“Although in theory an employer or a landlord could contact the Home Office to check their immigration status, they’re not likely to, and even if they do, the Home Office sometimes get it wrong.”

Mr Pountney said the lack of clarity around the new system of reusing biometrics was making it “impossible” to advise clients: “Clients keep asking us when something is going to happen, and we just don’t know. We’ve got no clarity on who is likely to be covered by this new system or what the process is, so we have to play it by ear.”

Andrew Tingley, partner and head of immigration at Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP, said: “Thousand of applicants are currently in limbo as a result of the Home Office policy of allowing the re-use of biometrics.”

He argued that visa applicants should be given the choice on whether to opt into the new system of reusing biometrics.

Not allowed to work

Sharon and Hywel Phillips married in February (Hywel Phillips)

Filipino national Sharon Phillips, 32, moved to the UK in December 2019 to join her husband Hywel on a six-month fiancé visa. They married in February and applied for her spouse visa in May, but the closure of visa centres meant she couldn’t submit her biometrics at the time.

The couple assumed that once the centres opened in June, they would be able to continue with the process, but they are still waiting – and until Sharon obtains her spouse visa, she is unable to work.

Sharon, who worked as a domestic worker in Malaysia before she came to the UK, said: “It’s frustrating. I can’t work. I can’t travel. I can’t do anything right now. I was hoping to work in a care home. I know there are vacancies in care homes at the moment. I want to, but what do I do?

“Financially I don’t have anything right now. I’m totally reliant on my husband. He’s also supporting my family back home in the Philippines.

“I’m just at home. I have nothing to look forward to. I’m hoping none of my family get sick because if that happens, I won’t be able to go back home to see them. We’re just waiting and waiting. I’m just stuck in limbo.”

Hywel, 31, who met Sharon while studying in Malaysia, said: “It’s hard to believe that they shut down all visa processing for three months, when it’s such an essential service. And it looks like there was no forward thinking about how to deal with the backlog once it reopened.

“We’ve been trying to wait patiently, but there’s so much uncertainty. We’ve now been told we have to go down this path of reusing biometrics, but it’s a new system that hasn’t been tested, and there’s no date for it yet. Will it be one more month? Will it be three more months? We really don’t know how long this will take.”

Unable to see dying father

Emre and Elif Gunes have been unable to visit Elif’s father, who is in a critical state (Emre Gunes)

Emre and Elif Gunes said they were feeling “desperate” because, as a result of the delays, they have been unable to travel to Turkey to visit Elif’s father, who has cancer and has been in a critical state since 13 July.

The Turkish couple, both of whom work as engineers in the UK, applied for an extension in April as the visas were set to expire on 19 June, but – although the process should normally take a few weeks – they still haven’t been able to submit their biometrics in order to complete the process.

They were hopeful when Sopra Steria announced on 1 June that appointments would be allocated by the order of the application submission dates, but they have since been told that they will be going through the new process of reusing previously submitted biometrics, and have been given no time frame as to when it will be up and running.

Elif, 29, said: ”I feel guilt and desperation every second of every day knowing that my family needs my support more than ever before, but I cannot promise them I will be there soon. This adds another unbearable dimension to my existing sorrow and fears.

“My heart beats fast whenever my phone rings, not only because I am scared to hear any more bad news about my father’s situation but also I do not know what is going to happen to my job and life here if I choose to go home. Do I have to leave my job and life behind just because this visa extension process is not working properly? This is the pressure I am under constantly.”

Emre, 31, said that on top of the distress of being unable to see his father-in-law, he was concerned about losing his job and, in the current situation, being unable to find a new one: “It was already too much stress for me. What I am going to do if I lose my job due to the pandemic? Will it be possible to find a new job with sponsorship?”

He added: “We were hoping we could at least visit [my father-in-law] once travel restrictions were lifted, but then we got an update from the Home Office about reusing biometrics. They haven’t mentioned any deadline or time frame. This situation is wrecking our lives, just after the Home Office gave us some hope.”

Unable to take up job offer

Debasish Dash was offered a job as a mathematics lecturer at Strathclyde University, but has not been able to take it (Debasish Dash)

Debasish Dash, a mathematician who has been working in the UK since 2016, has been unable to take up a job as a lecturer at Strathclyde University, which he was supposed to start at the beginning of July, because it has not been possible for him to complete the visa process.

The 33-year-old Indian national, who applied for a Global Talent Visa – which the government introduced in February to attract “talented and promising individuals in specific sectors” – is currently working at Cambridge University in a job that he was supposed to have left a month ago. The university has been able to source additional research funding for him to continue, but this will end in August.

“I will be unemployed. Researchers are not paid a lot. Because of the government’s mistake I’ll have to dig into my savings and start paying my rent and my bills from my savings. It just makes no sense,” he said.

“It’s nonsense. Everything was in place for me to start the new job in July, but now I don’t know how long I will have to wait because the government is not telling us anything.

“Banks and post offices were open. Why were visa centres closed for two months? Even since they’ve opened, why is there a complete lack of urgency? They’re very slow and they’re giving us no time frame. They’re trying to attract talented people, yet they’re putting me through this stress.”

‘Afraid to leave the house’

Another Indian national, who didn’t want to be named, said he was afraid to go outside in case anyone in authority requested to see his residence permit, which he is currently unable to provide because his visa ran out on 30 May, and he hasn’t been able to process his new one because has been told to wait for the new biometrics service.

The 25-year-old, who moved to the UK in January 2017 and works in the IT sector, said: “I find it tough to go out because police may ask for your permit to stay in the UK and I don’t have that. I’ve hardly been out in the last two months.

“I’m worried. I don’t have any proof of my status to show I’m eligible to be in this country. I can’t do anything. It’s important to have freedom and to have a visa to show you’re allowed to be in this country. What we’re going through is something no one is noticing.”

The young man said he was also distressed by the fact that his sister had recently given birth to her first child in India, and he had been unable to travel to see his family.

“I want to know what will happen to me. I don’t [want to] be waiting like this. My parents in India are very scared about what will happen to me. I’m a 25-year-old individual whose dreams came true when he got a job in the UK. But everything has become so bad,” he added.

A Sopra Steria spokesperson said: “We recognise it has been a difficult time for people unable to access appointments because of the global pandemic.”

They confirmed that the firm was looking to introduce new measures involving the reuse of fingerprint biometrics that have been recorded in a previous application, and said more information would be provided on this “very soon”.

The spokesperson said that since the phased reopening of centres on 1 June, the company had made “significant” progress in reducing the number of customers waiting for an appointment and was working to release new appointments.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on some visa services as we operate with a reduced capacity to observe social distancing. We’ve adapted our working practices in order to clear applications as soon as possible, which includes reusing the fingerprint biometrics of some of our customers to re-enrol and stop people having to attend in person.”