The director general of HM Passport Office (HMPO) and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), will be replaced in March and then take on a number of advisory roles and non-executive directorships.
Mark Thomson was appointed as the head of the passport office in 2015 and was at the centre of the Windrush scandal. He was made head of UKVI the following year.
Thomson’s sections of the Home Office have been under pressure since they were criticised by a home affairs select committee report last year. UKVI in particular was criticised for demanding a standard of proof from applicants which could not be met.
It has also recently emerged that Home Office profits on UK visas had surged by millions of pounds a week since visa operations were outsourced.
An investigation by Finance Uncovered and the Independent revealed that the UK government made £1.6bn from visa applicants in the five years since it outsourced the bulk of its overseas visa services to the Dubai-based firm VFS – a ninefold increase on the five years before.
