If the Home Office has made a mistake in the course of your application process, you may be eligible for compensation.
What are My Rights?
Some scenarios, such as unlawful detention and passport retention, are grounds for court-based compensation. However, other situations, such as lost documents, present a greater challenge when it comes to pursuing compensation through legal channels. This is where ex-gratia payments come into the picture.
The Home Office is generally not legally obligated to compensate customers for delays, errors or other issues. However, in certain circumstances, they may offer ex-gratia payments. These are payments which are made with no obligation or liability attached to them, as a gesture of goodwill.
Am I Eligible for Ex-Gratia Payments?
The Home Office may consider compensation in a few different scenarios, which fall into two categories: maladministration and exceptional circumstances.
Maladministration is when the Home Office makes errors or omissions, which includes losing documents, sending correspondence to the wrong address, defacing or invalidating documents, taking incorrect action, failing to respond to correspondence and giving incorrect advice. Other scenarios include mistakes made by the Home Office that have directly caused you financial loss, such as damaging your passport or providing incorrect information.Secondly, if the Home Office have missed guaranteed turnaround times – for example, if you have paid for a premium service with a guaranteed turnaround time and the passport was not delivered within that timeframe. Thirdly, if the Home Office or its partners have lost or damaged supporting documents.
Exceptional circumstances are situations where there has been no maladministration, but you have incurred expenses. An example is system failures leading to additional costs for rescheduling appointments. Additionally, the Home Office may consider consolatory compensation for distress or inconvenience caused by their errors. However, this is not standard practice.
Factors Affecting Your Claim
Several factors can influence the outcome of your compensation claim. Firstly, it should be established if there is any contributory negligence: if you have contributed to the issue (e.g. by providing incorrect information or failing to check your passport), your claim may be reduced or denied. Secondly, the impact of the error on your life or plans will be considered. For example, missing a significant event due to a delayed passport may warrant greater compensation. Lastly, the quality of your evidence is important – you will need to provide evidence to support your claim, such as receipts, correspondence and any relevant documentation.
How Do I Pursue a Claim?
There are multiple steps to this process. The first stage is submitting a complaint to the Home Office, detailing the error or omission and its consequences. You will then need to provide supporting documentation, such as receipts, correspondence and any relevant evidence. You must clearly state your request for an ex-gratia payment, outlining the financial losses or distress you have suffered.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your claim, you can request a review. If you remain unhappy after the review, you can escalate your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
How Gherson can assist
Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2024