New Idea for getting passport back

[sudaxl]

Hi All

I have been dealing with visas and passports for 14 years in this country and by now I dread to deal with home office. I especially hate how they keep passports as hostages while they leisurely process applications over 6 , 9 or even couple of years in some cases. I think it should be illegal and against human rights to deny someone travelling because they couldn't sort out their processes in time.

Some times I wish I should start a petition on change.org to stop homeoffice from holding on to our passports for so long.

Now I am soon eligible to apply for PR based on being married to a EEA citizen for 5 years. I don't want to give away my passport for 6 months as I have to travel both for work reasons and family reasons. IS there any way to I can keep my passport while they process my application ?

When sending my application , I was thinking about not sending my passport and writing a letter to them that they can request my passport when they actually start to process my application . I don't care if they take 6 months or a year this way . Do you think they will honor my application without my passport or would they reject it straight away even before taking the fees?

Any other brilliant ideas to hold on to passport ? FYI I have Indian passport and don't have other ID cards allowing me to travel.

Send me your views and comments . Thanks for reading

Sudheer

[woodsdevil]

I agree with you. I'm stuck in such a position, thinking that others managed to get their passports back
when they requested theirs. But it's been 15 working days since I filled the form to request our passports back
and nothing still. Complaint, 2nd form filled for requesting our passports back, stating we need it by mid april.
We are now over mid april, and yet nothing.

Totally wrong to be held hostage like that. Don't they realise for us foreigners, our passports are our life.
We can't hold our breath while they take their time processing our application. And you are right to say it's not our fault that they are behind with their processing time.

Furthermore, I think they are being unfair to the EEA application...if you go down the normal UK tier route, you can pay extra to get fast processing. As opposed to EEA applications which used to be free, now they charge you £65 per application and keep you in the dark.

All we ask is at least a status update, to keep us in the loop of how the application is progressing. Is that too much to ask?

[secret.simon]

I think it should be illegal and against human rights to deny someone travelling

You could consider taking the Home Office/HMG to court. They may be in breach of Protocol 2, Article 4 of the ECHR (see page 35).

Some times I wish I should start a petition on change.org to stop homeoffice from holding on to our passports for so long.

If you start a petition, start it on the Parliamentary E-Petitions website. That way it at least has a chance of being raised in Parliament.

Do you think they will honor my application without my passport or would they reject it straight away even before taking the fees?

They will take the fees and then reject the application for not meeting the documentary requirements.

if you go down the normal UK tier route, you can pay extra to get fast processing.

You do not appreciate just how cheap EEA immigration is. An ILR application for a single person is £1875. If you want same-day service, that is an additional £500 and even then, if the caseworker feels that the case is too complex, the application can be put into the postal queue, but there is no refund of the £500. So, given that you are paying only £65, count your blessings.

[liquidweb15]

Why not just request the documents back using:
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... ments.ofml

[woodsdevil]

I have already done that. And it's been 16 working days since.
I have submitted this form
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... quiry.ofml
which they asked us to fill if after 10 working days you don't hear anything back from them.
So its 6 working days after this second form has been filled. Still nothing.