A former mayor of Ipswich has won an appeal against a Home Office decision to deny her British citizenship.
Inga Lockington, a Danish national who has lived in the UK since she married her husband, Tim, in 1979, said she was pleased the issue was being resolved, but that she would hold off celebrating until she had an official certificate.
Lockington applied for UK citizenship after the EU referendum in 2016 but her application was refused as a permanent residence card did not accompany her application. On review the Home Office found her settled status since 1979 had not been correctly evaluated.
The 66-year-old has been a Liberal Democrat councillor for 19 years and served as mayor in 2007. She said her Danish passport was stamped when she first arrived in the country with the words “leave to enter the United Kingdom for an indefinite period”.
“For me this is very good news. I would like to think that there are no other cases like this – I really hope the Home Office does take care over everyone’s applications,” she told the Ipswich Star.
Lockington said she would have to go through a formal process, including attending a ceremony where she would swear allegiance to the Queen.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We have contacted Mrs Lockington to advise her that, following reconsideration of her case, her citizenship application will be granted. We have also taken the opportunity to apologise to her for the initial decision.”
It said guidance had been reissued to reinforce the importance of consideration of wider immigration status in all cases for citizenship.
