Politics · United Kingdom · 11 hrs ago
Turkish ECAA visa refusals surge amid claims of Home Office errors
Turkish nationals using a UK business visa route are facing a sharp rise in refusals for permanent residency, known as indefinite leave to remain.
The route, called the European Community Association Agreement scheme, lets Turkish nationals who set up businesses in the UK seek residency.
Hundreds of applicants have been refused since the start of 2026, while successful applications have fallen from several thousand in previous years to a few hundred.
Applicants and lawyers say refusal letters contain errors and requirements that are not part of the rules, and some decisions have caused severe hardship for families.
Former foreign secretary David Lammy says the apparent policy shift has devastated lives and recalls the Windrush scandal, in which people were wrongly treated as having no right to live in the UK.
The Home Office says the rules have not changed, but the number of ECAA refusals under administrative review rose from 145 in 2025 to 395 between January and mid-August 2026.
The department has been asked to revisit the decisions, while lawyers report long delays for applications submitted since September 2025.
Hundreds of Turkish ECAA visa holders have been refused permanent residency in the UK since the start of 2026, according to the Guardian.
Successful applications have fallen from the usual several thousand to a few hundred since January.
Applicants and lawyers have raised concerns about errors in refusal letters, including requirements that do not exist.
The Home Office says the rules have not changed, while former foreign secretary David Lammy says there seems to have been a sudden policy change.
- Who
- Turkish nationals applying for indefinite leave to remain through the ECAA route.
- What
- Refusals have risen sharply, with applicants and lawyers alleging errors in decisions.
- When
- Since the start of 2026; the rise appears to affect applications lodged since September 2025.
- Where
- The United Kingdom.
- Why
- Not stated. The Home Office says there has been no change to the rules.
Home Office
Applicants and critics
Policy
Home Office
The Home Office maintains there has been no change to the rules.
Applicants and critics
David Lammy says there seems to have been a sudden change in policy, and applicants and lawyers cite errors in refusal decisions.
The rise in refusals appears to apply to applications lodged from this month.
Hundreds of ECAA holders had been refused permanent residency since the start of the year, while successful applications fell to a few hundred.
The number of ECAA applications under administrative review had risen to 395 from 145 in 2025.
The Home Office told a refused applicant and her three children that they should leave the United Kingdom.
- Route
- European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) visas
- Administrative reviews
- 395 from January to mid-August 2026
- Administrative reviews in 2025
- 145
- Usual application wait
- Six months
What people are saying
there “seems to be a sudden change
I can’t help remembering the Windrush scandal when I hear these terrible stories. The Home Office needs to urgently revisit and consider the Lessons Learned review. This is entirely unacceptable. I would like to see justice for Britain’s Turkish-origin community.
In solving this crisis, you may not always like what I do. We will have to question some of the assumptions and legal constraints that have lasted for a generation and more.