The British Home Office has been accused of forcing migrants with residency permits to take DNA tests to prove that their children are really their own.
The British Home Office has been accused of wrongly forcing migrants with the right to reside in the country to take DNA tests to prove their blood relations with their family. Sajid Javid, Home Secretary and member of the Conservative Party, has been forced to apologize for demanding DNA tests for family members of at least 130 people of Afghan and Nepalese origin. Some of them were employed in government institutions and the armed forces.
Exams for family reunification
The exams were called for by the ministry's offices to prove blood relations with the children of these immigrants who asked for the right to stay permanently on the island in line with family reunification regulations. This was "unacceptable" and guidance was "unclear or wrong", he said in front of the House of Commons in apologizing to all those affected by the procedure which he said must always be voluntary and not mandatory.
Wrongful use of system
Javid stressed that checks on those filing these requests are necessary but that they must be conducted in a fair and humane manner. The mandatory DNA testing was included as a requirement for adult dependent children of Gurkhas, who are Nepalese and have been a legendary part of the Army for more than 200 years.
The matter was brought to light by a commission under Wendy Williams, which broadened its investigation to beyond the recent scandal of rights denied to Caribbean migrants of the 'Windrush Generation'. The minister's reassurances were deemed insufficient by the Labor opposition.