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Communicating with the Border and Immigration Agency

I have heard and seen it several times. "I sent it but they claim that they did not receive it." When asked of the evidence of postage, it is nowhere to be found.

This month, I would like to warn people sending documents to the Home Office to be wary of a common error that many people makes and also to warn prospective applicants or people with outstanding application on the dangers of doing it yourself. They send valuable documents that are crucial to their stay in the United Kingdom 'without any protection'.

Protection in that first: they did not make any copy of the documents sent. It is mandatory for you to send original documents to the Home Office unless you are asked to send copies. As documents sometimes go missing in the post, you are to make a copy of all the documents sent and the letter in support. Memory fades quickly and you may need to recall some of the points raised or mentioned in your letter. So, always make a copy. I could recall an instance when they claimed that they did received the documents sent by us but that they could not locate it. The caseworker then requested for photocopies of the documents we sent to them and having forwarded it to her, she used it to grant our client indefinite leave to remain. It was several months after she was granted indefinite leave that they found the originals and it was returned to our office safely. Believe me, it could have been lost forever.

It is not only getting lost that is involved but the fact that some documents are simply irreplaceable.

Second, another common error is sending documents to the Home Office by ordinary post. People who do this are simply testing their maker. The Home Office is a vast government department dealing with all sorts of matters. If you are sending documents to the Home Office, you need to send it by recorded delivery or special delivery. The risk of sending documents by recorded delivery is that in most cases, you are not compensated if your documents go missing. On the other hand, if you use special delivery, you will be compensated if your documents go missing.

Third, if you are sending documents by fax, you need to keep a confirmation that you faxed it.

Finally, the biggest mistake made by some people applying to the Home Office for leave to remain is trying to do the application or respond to Home Office enquiries themselves. First, there is nothing wrong with making applications to the Home Office yourself. Even the Home Office wrote that the forms are designed for applicants to be able to make the application themselves but in some cases, this is not possible without the assistance of a legal representative. The forms look alike but they are for different applications. The forms look simple but what of the representation to accompany it. Second, I had the opportunity of dealing with some cases where the applicants responded to a Home Office enquiry without getting proper legal advice and they messed up their chances of ever being granted leave to remain in the UK.

Looking at some of the responses, I did not know whether to cry or laugh. Cry because the answers to the enquiries destroyed their chances. Laugh, because the answers were very funny and catastrophic. It may cause you some money to get legal advice and assistance to prevent you from messing up your case but it would cost you a lot more to appeal against an untoward decision or to seek judicial review at the High Court.

When you get a letter from the Home Office and they are seeking a response by a given date, make sure you contact your legal representative if you have one. Some questions look easy but failure to answer them correctly could lead to your removal from the UK. Take for instance, the Legacy Questionnaire sometimes sent out to review an applicant's case looks easy but it could determine whether you are allowed to stay or whether you are removed. It is not a benign or friendly document. In most cases, they send it to the applicant directly and if you see it as an easy form, you could be on your way home.

I also want to use this month's article to congratulate Barrack Obama and his vice for a job well done. Obama in particular is an enigma with an incredible grace. You readers are next in line for a miracle.

Dele Olawanle

Dele Olawanle is the Principal Solicitor at Del & Co. Solicitors in North London. He also presents "The Legal Panorama" and "The Winning Mentality" on TV every week. Also, you can visit: www.delsolicitors.co.uk or www.pastordele.com for TV schedules.