Freedom of Information Request help

[Jellybean105]

Hi there

I wanted to know how I can request freedom of information from Home office? I've looked it up but of the 28 bodies, I don't know who to write to.

Please can someone advise. Also, does anyone have a sample letter/email I can use.

Thank you!

[ohara]

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/home_office

[vinny]

Contact an organisation in writing to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. This can be by:

letter
email
fax

[vinny]

See also SAR.

[Jellybean105]

Thank you ohara & vinny!

[ohara]

The whatdotheyknow site is very good for making FOI requests if you don't really know what you are doing. You literally just choose the department you want to contact, write your query and hit send and everything is done for you. The results will be available for the public to read on the site too.

[Jellybean105]

Thanks ohara, I think I was after the subject access request. I always get confused between the two. I didn't realise I'd need to sign off an ID by a solicitor that might take a while..

Will they be able to give me information held about my husband regarding his previous applications? I have a feeling they have him down as 'overstaying' for part of his stay. But when he applied for a spouse visa, at the time he had an appeal going on for a student visa so he was technically legal until the appeal was heard. I have the letters to prove that the appeal reply came after the spouse visa application was sent and he left the country when the spouse visa was rejected (because he had no valid leave to remain).

He never intentionally overstayed.

I know we made a mistake by applying while his appeal was in process, but I don't understand how they can make such a mistake and not know theres already a application in process. I don't want that to hinder his citizenship application when the time comes.

Thanks

[ohara]

Freedom of Information (FoI) requests are for find out general information from government departments. They won't disclose anybody's personal information through an FoI request!

If you want to get personal information from the government, then you need to do a subject access request (SAR). You have a right under the data protection act to have access to certain information held about yourself by government departments. You cannot request somebody else's information unless they have given their express permission.