Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make the frequency of asylum applications from student visa holders at the same student visa sponsor grounds to suspend or revoke a student visa sponsor licence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they assess whether a student visa sponsor remains fully compliant, and whether they plan to introduce any additional regulatory tools to address student visa misuse.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are reviewing the quantitative thresholds of the core requirements for student visa sponsor compliance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum claims have been submitted by visa holders with a licensed student visa sponsor in the most recent 12-month period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on people claiming asylum by route of entry to the UK in table Asy_D01a of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2025. Between July 2024 and June 2025, 14,800 asylum claims were submitted by those holding a study visa. There is no breakdown by sponsored or non-sponsored study available. This breakdown is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.