UK visa applicant arrested for fraud

A UK visa applicant was arrested for obtaining a passport on a false identity yesterday, a release from the British High Commissioner said yesterday.

The Sri Lankan applicant had applied for a settlement visa to join her husband in the UK. The UK Border Agency’s checks established that the applicant had previously held a passport on a different identity.

The UK Border Agency informed the Sri Lankan Police and the applicant was arrested. Immigration Liaison Manager, Colombo, Claire Murray, said: “The UK Border Agency conducts robust checks on documents submitted with UK visa applications.

“If we find out that an applicant has used deception in their visa application, we will ban the applicant from travelling to the UK for up to 10 years. In addition, as this case shows, we will refer the applicant to the police with whom the UK Border Agency has a very good working relationship.”

Yesterday’s arrest follows an arrest in May of an applicant who had also obtained a Sri Lankan passport in a false identity.

The applicant had applied for a visa to be a dependant of a Tier 4 student visa applicant. The UK Border Agency uncovered this deception because it takes biometric data from customers as an integral part of the visa application process.