Leave expired due to COA backlogs

[treefriend]

Can someone plz tell me (am sure there are more on the same boat) about the legality of process in which UKBA kept people passports and now when leaves are expired, they are holding them and asking people to leve the country.

Thanks

[Kitty]

An application for a Certificate of Approval had no effect on the duration of your leave.

It was the responsibility of applicants to request return of their passports if necessary so they could leave before they became overstayers.

Are you saying that you asked for your passport in good time but UKBA refused to return it?

[mochyn]

In the UK a passport is the property of the Government and not a possession of the holder so if the UKBA are holding a British passport it has more of a right to do so than the holder

[treefriend]

An application for a Certificate of Approval had no effect on the duration of your leave.

It was the responsibility of applicants to request return of their passports if necessary so they could leave before they became overstayers.

Are you saying that you asked for your passport in good time but UKBA refused to return it?

I sent many faxes and letters in good time to get my pp back but nothing happened.
As COA was abolished on 9th of may, we went to council to register our marriage. I and my fiancee got married and have received our marriage certificate yesterday. I dont know whether it would make any difference in getting my pp back.

thanks

[Greenie]

In the UK a passport is the property of the Government and not a possession of the holder so if the UKBA are holding a British passport it has more of a right to do so than the holder

A passport belongs to the government that issued it so a foreign nationals passport is not the possession of the UK government!

[vinny]

See also Atapattu, R. (On the Application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWHC 1388 (Admin) (27 May 2011), regarding wrongful retention of passport.

[mochyn]

In the UK a passport is the property of the Government and not a possession of the holder so if the UKBA are holding a British passport it has more of a right to do so than the holder

A passport belongs to the government that issued it so a foreign nationals passport is not the possession of the UK government!

That is what I was trying to convey obviously it was not clear enough.
I did not mention a foreign national passport was the possession of the UK government