The Home Office has been accused of wrongly forcing immigrants to take DNA tests in order to settle their UK status. While it has been said that these test demands were 'voluntary', letters were sent to foreign parents of British children seeking to stay in the country, despite the government’s own policy stating there is no specific requirement for DNA to be provided in immigration cases.
The accusation against the Home Office comes a month after the Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes, said in answer to a parliamentary question that any DNA was submitted on an “entirely voluntary basis”.
The department has issued an 'urgent' review into the letters after admitting a number had been issued which did not make it clear that individuals could refuse.
This came when on June 25 the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), an independent charity that works on behalf of migrants, received a letter from one of its clients. Yvette Cooper, chair of the Commons home affairs select committee, said parliament was “too often” being given inaccurate information by the Home Office.
On Tuesday as we went to press, the Migrant Voice published a research that demanded to reinstate the immigration status of students, who were wrongly deported on allegations of 'cheating' at English test and are allowed back into the country to finish their education.
