HOME Office staff botched an interview with a Syrian man seeking refugee status – because they thought he was someone else.

Mohammed Farrouh was grilled about his journey to the UK, but months later officials said they’d had the wrong person.

One year later, that other person now has refugee status – but Farrouh has no idea what will happen with his case. Without the status, he is unable to seek reunion with his wife in the UK. “We just cry over the phone,” Farrouh said. “We just want to be reunited. We never wanted to be separated.”

READ MORE: First Minister issues challenge to Home Office over Ukraine refugees

Of all refugees resettled in the UK between January 2010 and December 2020, almost 70% were Syrian. The total amounts to fewer than 20,000 people.

More than 1700 Syrian nationals sought asylum in the UK in 2020, almost nine in 10 of whom were ultimately granted asylum or another form or leave to remain after appeals are taken into consideration.

Twenty-year-old Farrouh, who is living in Glasgow, gave a statement of evidence in support of his application to the Home Office in September 2020.

Five months later, the department confirmed it would not try to remove him to a third country and would consider his asylum application. He was called to an interview and waited for the result.

But in August last year, Farrouh’s solicitor was told there had been a “serious mistake” – officials thought they had been speaking to someone else but mixed the men up because their names were similar.

Since then, yet more paperwork has been submitted in support of Farrouh’s bid for sanctuary from the conflict still tearing Syria apart.

And while the other man has had his status granted, Farrouh, who has asked us not to show his picture, is no further forward.

“When they started asking me about my journey to the UK I felt something wasn’t right,” he told The National.

“They were reading from something but I felt so confused, thinking, ‘I gave them a statement with all the details, so why are they asking questions about unrelated issues?’ “When my solicitor phoned to tell me that the Home Office had contacted him to tell him they made a mistake, I was shocked. In a second, I felt I’ll never be able to get on with my life. My wife’s face came in my head straight away. She has been in a warzone for the past two years. I felt so weak and exhausted.

“My solicitor, who of course wasn’t happy either, demanded a solution and was told that the senior casework team might just grant me my status without an interview. They have my full passport and ID card but this was last year."

 Rea Law solicitor Usman Aslam, who represents Farrouh, said his correspondence and phone calls have been “ignored”.

“Mistakes happen, however I was told this could be rectified,” he said. “That was last year.

“The Home Office system, in my view, needs a full overhaul. It is not built for purpose. It is very confused.

“We are winning appeals, but decisions and visas are taking months to implement – this is pre and post-Covid. It has a priority visa system whereby decisions can be made the following day, following an application, so clearly it can be done.”

The Home Office did not respond to a request for comment.