No decision within the 6 month waiting period. Next steps.

Hi there,

I applied for ILR - 10 year route in March this year. The deadline has now passed. I have received neither a complex case letter nor a decision from the HO. I have submitted a complaint online which is expected to be answered within 22 working days.
Other options are contacting the local MP and a judical review.

Has anyone of you tried to expedite the case via an MP? Would it be better to go for a judical review instead?

Thanks for your help!

chathambay wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 16, 2021 9:38 pm

Hi there,

I applied for ILR - 10 year route in March this year. The deadline has now passed. I have received neither a complex case letter nor a decision from the HO. I have submitted a complaint online which is expected to be answered within 22 working days.
Other options are contacting the local MP and a judical review.

Has anyone of you tried to expedite the case via an MP? Would it be better to go for a judical review instead?

Thanks for your help!

UKVI does not issue a complex letter anymore. In some cases, the decision will take more than 6 months. I suggest sharing your immigration history here.
Please note that there is no basis for a judicial review in your case. Home office can hold your application as long as they see fit and that is not an unlawful act. Contacting an MP is also not much fruitful. Lodging a complaint was a better option which you have done

Thank you for your prompt response.

1. Does it mean that the information on the website about complex letters within 12 weeks is a mere lie?
2. The service standard to decide an application has been clearly breached. Why is there no basis for a judicial review?
3. Is there any service standard anyway at the moment?

Best

Holding my application infinitely long breaches the ECHR. I argue that the HO can do that lawfully. Clearlry the case can easly go to a court for a review. There is no such a thing in law to hold a decision as long as a govermental body can see fit. I just believe nobody wanted to contest that which is not in my case. I have enough resources and will to do that.

The arguments for negligence, the duty of care and violations of human rights are very difficult ones to make legally. Having an application held up a little longer than 6 months does not constitute such breaches on their own. You need to prove that such action is unlawful on its own and you suffered significant damages in the process.

The only case I know is Husson v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] where the appellant was granted ILR but not issued a BRP for two years. I believe the case is yet to go through judicial review as the appeal was allowed by the court of appeal in March.

I repeat again to share your immigration history. We may be able to assess if your circumstances raise complex issues

I have excess a single long absence (almost 2 years) due to compelling and compassionate reasons. The evidence for the abcence is well documented and submitted with the application. Unfortunately due to the sensitive reasons of the absence I cannot share its reason publicly.

I have strong evidence of my private life in the UK which has been recognised by the HO (the letter from the HO confirming that was also submitted with the application).

I made a human rights claim in line with articles 3 and 8 of ECHR.

Then your application is complex and requires approval from a senior caseworker which will certainly take more than 6 months. The long residence is a human rights application and has appeal rights. It is fully at the discretion of the home office to exercise discretion in your case as you have long absences that break your lawful residence normally