A Sri Lankan visa applicant has been arrested today for using deception and a false identity to apply for a UK visa, the British High Commission in Colombo said.

It said that, the applicant was referred by the UK Visas and Immigration team to the Fraud Investigations Bureau police in Colombo. The visa applicant was applying to join her husband who is resident in the UK. Checks revealed that the applicant had previously applied in a false identity for which she provided a fraudulently obtained Sri Lankan passport and other supporting documents.

The two visa applications have been refused and the arrested applicant will have a 10 year ban on travel to the UK. In addition she now faces prosecution for her actions from the Sri Lankan authorities.

UK Visas and Immigration Operations Manager, Tony Williams, said:
“We will not tolerate abuse of the UK’s immigration rules. Where we see abuse, we will take action against those involved. I would strongly advise visa applicants not to submit false documents and not to use false identities or other forms of deception.”

The UK Visas and Immigration team uncovered this deception because it conducts extensive checks on documents submitted with visa applications.

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)