A UK visa applicant was arrested today (June 10) for obtaining a passport in a false identity, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) stated. The Sri Lankan applicant had applied for a settlement visa to join her husband in the UK.

The UK Border Agency’s checks established that the applicant had previously held a passport in a different identity. The UK Border Agency had informed the Sri Lankan police which led to the arrest of the applicant, a news release by the British High Commission read.

Immigration Liaison Manager, Colombo, Claire Murray, said “The UK Border Agency conducts robust checks on documents submitted with UK visa applications. If we find out that an applicant has used deception in their visa application, we will ban the applicant from travelling to the UK for up to 10 years.

In addition, as this case shows, we will refer the applicant to the police with whom the UK Border Agency has a very good working relationship.”

Today’s arrest follows an arrest in May of an applicant who had also obtained a Sri Lankan passport in a false identity. The applicant had applied for a visa to be a dependant of a Tier 4 student visa applicant. The border control body of the United Kingdom had uncovered the deception due to it taking biometric data from customers as an integral part of the visa application process.