UK VISA APPLICANT ARRESTED FOR FRAUD : High Commission

May 26, 2015 (LBO)- Sri Lanka's British High Commission urged visa applicants to be honest in their applications, a statement said.



“We will not tolerate abuse of the UK’s immigration rules. Where we see evidence of abuse, we will take action against those involved," UK Visas and Immigration Operations Manager, Tony Williams, said in a statement.







“We strongly advise visa applicants to be open and honest in their applications. Each application is considered on its individual merits and a previous visa refusal doesn’t necessarily mean that the new visa will get refused.





However in cases of deception or where false documents are submitted we will always refuse the applicant and as in this case there could also be wider ramifications." All visa applications are subject to extensive checks by trained forgery officers, and this deception was uncovered following these routine checks. The commission said that, a 30-year old man from the Jaffna area was arrested recently for using deception in his UK visit visa application.



He was found to have previously applied under a different identity.

The visa applicant was referred by UK Visas and Immigration to the Fraud Investigations Bureau police in Colombo. He had previously been refused a UK visa when using the same name, but with a different date of birth and family details.



As well as receiving a visa refusal the applicant has been given a 10 year ban on travel to the UK and faces prosecution for his actions from the Sri Lankan authorities.