Elderly Polish Woman Faces Deportation from the UK Following Application Error
Elzbieta Olszewska, 80, risks removal after Home Office rejects her online application to stay in Britain.
Elzbieta Olszewska, an 80-year-old Polish woman, is facing deportation from the United Kingdom after a complication with her residency application.
Olszewska, who had been living alone in Warsaw, arrived in the UK last September on a six-month visitor visa to stay with her son, Michal Olszewski, an aeronautical engineer residing in Lincoln.
Olszewski, who has held British citizenship since 2006, sought to bring his mother to the UK due to her declining health.
Upon her arrival, an application for Olszewska to receive permanent residency was submitted online.
However, on March 25, the Home Office informed the family that the application was invalid because it had not been completed using a required paper form, which must be requested from the Home Office and subsequently printed, filled in, and re-sent.
The Home Office's letter stated: "Unfortunately your application is not valid and we are unable to accept it.
The required application process for someone applying as a family member of a relevant naturalised British citizen is to use the appropriate paper form.
There is no right of appeal in respect of an invalid application." The letter further indicated that due to the expiration of her visitor visa, Olszewska no longer had the right to remain in the UK, warning of potential detention, fines, imprisonment, and removal.
Olszewski expressed frustration, pointing to the prolonged processing time without feedback from the Home Office as distressing for his mother, who is now without legal status and at risk of deportation.
"This is a big disgrace from the Home Office.
It was only after almost six months that they told us the application was invalid.
My mum is very distressed about this," Olszewski stated.
The families' solicitor, Katherine Smith of Redwing Immigration, highlighted the severity of the situation: "The implications of an application being rejected as invalid are very drastic.
It was harsh the Home Office wouldn’t accept the online application or allow time for a paper form to be completed.
Elzbieta is now without legal status in the UK due to the delay in reaching this decision and is distressed by this."
As the rejection leaves Olszewska without recourse to appeal, Smith is preparing to initiate judicial review proceedings against the Home Office's decision.
A spokesperson for the Home Office commented that it is longstanding policy not to discuss individual cases.
Olszewska, who had been living alone in Warsaw, arrived in the UK last September on a six-month visitor visa to stay with her son, Michal Olszewski, an aeronautical engineer residing in Lincoln.
Olszewski, who has held British citizenship since 2006, sought to bring his mother to the UK due to her declining health.
Upon her arrival, an application for Olszewska to receive permanent residency was submitted online.
However, on March 25, the Home Office informed the family that the application was invalid because it had not been completed using a required paper form, which must be requested from the Home Office and subsequently printed, filled in, and re-sent.
The Home Office's letter stated: "Unfortunately your application is not valid and we are unable to accept it.
The required application process for someone applying as a family member of a relevant naturalised British citizen is to use the appropriate paper form.
There is no right of appeal in respect of an invalid application." The letter further indicated that due to the expiration of her visitor visa, Olszewska no longer had the right to remain in the UK, warning of potential detention, fines, imprisonment, and removal.
Olszewski expressed frustration, pointing to the prolonged processing time without feedback from the Home Office as distressing for his mother, who is now without legal status and at risk of deportation.
"This is a big disgrace from the Home Office.
It was only after almost six months that they told us the application was invalid.
My mum is very distressed about this," Olszewski stated.
The families' solicitor, Katherine Smith of Redwing Immigration, highlighted the severity of the situation: "The implications of an application being rejected as invalid are very drastic.
It was harsh the Home Office wouldn’t accept the online application or allow time for a paper form to be completed.
Elzbieta is now without legal status in the UK due to the delay in reaching this decision and is distressed by this."
As the rejection leaves Olszewska without recourse to appeal, Smith is preparing to initiate judicial review proceedings against the Home Office's decision.
A spokesperson for the Home Office commented that it is longstanding policy not to discuss individual cases.
