Referral of applications by UKVI to the IOM Immigration Service

Summary

The requester sought statistics on UKVI's failure to refer Isle of Man visa applications to local officers and internal policies regarding these procedures. The Cabinet Office refused the request under a practical refusal exemption, stating they do not hold the specific statistics requested.

Key Facts

• The request was made to the Isle of Man Cabinet Office regarding the Immigration Service (IOMIS).
• The authority cited section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 as a practical refusal reason.
• The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office confirmed they do not keep statistics for 'Leave to Enter the Isle of Man' granted or refused by UKVI.
• The request covered the periods of 2016, 2017, and 2018.
• The final outcome of the case was 'Not upheld'.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-09-03
• 2018-10-22
• 2016
• 2017
• 2018
• 1 February 2016
• 588636
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Practical refusal: information not held or cannot be found after reasonable steps)

Original Request

The Isle of Man Immigration Service ('IOMIS') and its employed Entry Clearance Officers ('ECOs') form part of the Cabinet Office, a department of the Isle of Man Government to which the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the 'Act') has applied since it came into force on 1 February 2016. It is a matter of general importance that the public may have access to sufficient information as to provide them with confidence that IOMIS and the ECOs are carrying out their functions under applicable legislation, and that no unqualified person is purporting to carry out the prescribed functions of either IOMIS or Isle of Man ECOs. United Kingdom Visas and Immigration ('UKVI'), a division of the Home Office, a department of Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom, acts as the agent for Isle of Man ECOs in all cases where applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man (whether as a visitor or limited or indefinite leave to enter) are submitted by persons outside the British Islands. Under UKVI published entry clearance guidance appearing at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-travel-area, UKVI must complete a prescribed referral form (the 'CTA Form') and provide it to the Isle of Man ECO for a decision. This request is for the following statistical information: 1. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which IOMIS is aware that UKVI has purported to approve the application without referring the application to an Isle of Man ECO for a decision; 2. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which IOMIS is aware that UKVI has purported to refuse the application without referring the application to an Isle of Man ECO for a decision; 3. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which UKVI has forwarded the application to an Isle of Man ECO for a decision but in respect of which a completed CTA Form has not been provided; and 4. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which UKVI has provided a completed CTA Form without a copy of the application or any supporting documents. The statistics should be broken up into the following periods: A. 2016 (since the coming into force of the Act); B. 2017; and C. 2018 (to the date of the response to this request). This request further seeks disclosure of any and all internal policies, procedures or guidance documents of IOMIS in relation to its mechanisms to verify that all applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man have been properly referred to an Isle of Man ECO by UKVI in compliance with the prescribed procedure of UKVI, and/or any and all such policies, procedures or guidance documents of IOMIS for rectifying any failure by UKVI to refer such applications to an Isle of Man ECO.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244 Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 588636 20 September 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 3 September 2018.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance a practical refusal reason under section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 applies as the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested. Please find below your request and the Cabinet Office’s responses.

"The Isle of Man Immigration Service ('IOMIS') and its employed Entry Clearance Officers ('ECOs') form part of the Cabinet Office, a department of the Isle of Man Government to which the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the 'Act') has applied since it came into force on 1 February 2016. It is a matter of general importance that the public may have access to sufficient information as to provide them with confidence that IOMIS and the ECOs are carrying out their functions under applicable legislation, and that no unqualified person is purporting to carry out the prescribed functions of either IOMIS or Isle of Man ECOs. United Kingdom Visas and Immigration ('UKVI'), a division of the Home Office, a department of Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom, acts as the agent for Isle of Man ECOs in all cases where applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man (whether as a visitor or limited or indefinite leave to enter) are submitted by persons outside the British Islands. Under UKVI published entry clearance guidance appearing at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-travel-area, UKVI must complete a prescribed referral form (the 'CTA Form') and provide it to the Isle of Man ECO for a decision. This request is for the following statistical information: 1. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which IOMIS is aware that UKVI has purported to approve the application without referring the application to an Isle of Man ECO for a decision; The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office do not keep statistics for ‘Leave to Enter the Isle of Man’ granted by UKVI.

1. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which IOMIS is aware that UKVI has purported to refuse the application without referring the application to an Isle of Man ECO for a decision; The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office do not keep statistics for ‘Leave to Enter the Isle of Man’ refused by UKVI.
2. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which UKVI has forwarded the application to an Isle of Man ECO for a decision but in respect of which a completed CTA Form has not been provided; and The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office do not keep statistics whether or not a completed CTA Form for ‘Leave to Enter the Isle of Man’ is provided or not with an application referred by UKVI.
3. the number of applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man in respect of which UKVI has provided a completed CTA Form without a copy of the application or any supporting documents. The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office do not keep statistics whether or not UKVI has provided a completed CTA Form without a copy of the application or any supporting documents for ‘Leave to Enter the Isle of Man’. The statistics should be broken up into the following periods: A. 2016 (since the coming into force of the Act); B. 2017; and C. 2018 (to the date of the response to this request). This request further seeks disclosure of any and all internal policies, procedures or guidance documents of IOMIS in relation to its mechanisms to verify that all applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man have been properly referred to an Isle of Man ECO by UKVI in compliance with the prescribed procedure of UKVI, and/or any and all such policies, procedures or guidance documents of IOMIS for rectifying any failure by UKVI to refer such applications to an Isle of Man ECO."

The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office do not have internal policies, procedures or guidance documents in relation to its mechanisms to verify that all applications for leave to enter the Isle of Man have been properly referred to an Isle of Man ECO by UKVI in compliance with the prescribed procedure of UKVI, and/or any and all such policies, procedures or guidance documents of IOMIS for rectifying any failure by UKVI to refer such applications to an Isle of Man ECO. The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office contribute to the CTA document here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-travel-area.

Please quote the reference number 588636 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator