Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain status on (a) holders of ECAA Turkish Businessperson visas and (b) their businesses in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
Time spent in routes that currently count towards settlement after 5 years will continue to count towards the new standard qualifying period.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Protections will be put in place where appropriate.
Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following the consultation and will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on responding to the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the minimum income requirement for the UK’s spouse and partner visa routes.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The MAC’s recommendations are being considered in detail alongside the work being carried out as a result of the Immigration White Paper (Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK) which made clear that family migration would be reformed to tackle the over complex family immigration arrangements, including the financial requirements.
However, there is no set date for when we will publish a response to the MAC report.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Appendix ECAA visa holders will be affected by retrospective changes to settlement requirements.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement, such as those currently on ECAA visas. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the ECAA route will continue to apply.
Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following the consultation.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visitors from (a) India, (b) Pakistan, (c) Bangladesh and (d) Nepal were refused visas in 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Visitor visas, and nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications refused are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals in the Earned Settlement consultation on staffing levels in the adult social care sector; and whether social care roles will be included within the public service consideration which reduces the baseline qualifying period for earned settlement.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
As part of this consultation, we are seeking views on the potential impact of the proposed changes on different groups, including those working in sectors such as social care. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.
The final proposals will also be subject to full economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy that only one person per household can respond to her open consultation on earned settlement.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation is open to anyone including multiple members of the same household. Each response must be submitted separately. People can request alternative formats of the consultation or report technical issues by contacting EarnedSettlementConsultationQueries@homeoffice.gov.uk.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the risks to the safety of Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders travelling through Hong Kong or mainland China of the transition from physical Biometric Residence Permits to the digital eVisa system.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
An eVisa is a digital record of a person's identity and their immigration permission in the UK, and any conditions which apply. As with biometric residence permits (BRPs), it is issued to enable a person to prove their status when travelling to the UK, including via third countries, and when living in the UK.
The transition from physical BRPs to eVisas does not create a risk for those travelling through mainland China or Hong Kong. Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders do not need to present their eVisa for this travel, since they do not require a UK immigration status for this purpose.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether interest generated on savings will count towards the proposed £12,570 personal income threshold for acquiring permanent residence.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
Details of mandatory requirements, including those relating to the personal income threshold, will be finalised following that consultation.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessment, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints she has received on the new electronic visa system.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office has received 1888 complaints about the electronic visa system from 1 July 2024 when it first categorised this issue to 31 January 2026.
This comprises 1785 Stage 1 and 103 Stage 2 complaints.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many students have claimed asylum (a) while studying in the UK and (b) after completing their studies in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum after holding a study visa as their most recent category of leave prior to claiming asylum is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.
There is no published breakdown available on whether an individual claimed asylum before or after their visa expired.