Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people applying for a skilled workers visa after 31 December 2020 will be subject to a market labour test.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As already set out in the Government’s Policy Statement on the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System, published on 19 February, and the 13 July Further Details document, we will be abolishing the Resident Labour Market Test.
This will take effect when the new Skilled Worker route launches later this year.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants are waiting for an appointment with UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services as of 12 October 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We regularly review the number of customers who have made an application but are yet to book a UKVCAS appointment. The number is influenced by a range of factors and therefore is not a proxy for the number actually ‘waiting’ for an appointment. For example, our insight tells us some customers are unable to travel to a service point as they are shielding, others have chosen not to book/continue with their application due to a change in circumstances but have not yet withdrawn their application and some have deferred booking for other reasons.
During the summer months, following the COVID-19 closure on 27 March and subsequent reopening of UKVCAS service points from 1 June, UKVI invited customers to book in a managed way, following date order. However, since 23 September, customers have been able to book appointments immediately after making their application, thus returning to the pre-COVID-19 process.
The number of appointments added into the system is not constant as it depends on a number of factors. As of 10am on 13 October, this morning there were 12,032 appointments offered for w/c 19 October 2020.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appointments UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services are making available each week.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We regularly review the number of customers who have made an application but are yet to book a UKVCAS appointment. The number is influenced by a range of factors and therefore is not a proxy for the number actually ‘waiting’ for an appointment. For example, our insight tells us some customers are unable to travel to a service point as they are shielding, others have chosen not to book/continue with their application due to a change in circumstances but have not yet withdrawn their application and some have deferred booking for other reasons.
During the summer months, following the COVID-19 closure on 27 March and subsequent reopening of UKVCAS service points from 1 June, UKVI invited customers to book in a managed way, following date order. However, since 23 September, customers have been able to book appointments immediately after making their application, thus returning to the pre-COVID-19 process.
The number of appointments added into the system is not constant as it depends on a number of factors. As of 10am on 13 October, this morning there were 12,032 appointments offered for w/c 19 October 2020.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fines have been issued for failing to self isolate when returning from overseas.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
On 30 September, the National Police Chiefs’ Council published its monthly data related to police use of Covid-19 enforcement notices issued under all emergency health protections. The data covers up to 21 September and shows that 38 fines had been issued to individuals who have contravened the International Travel regulations by failing to self-isolate after arriving in England from a country on the UK government list. These were issued across 14 forces.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the equity of processing applicants for asylum on (a) UK Crown Dependencies and (b) British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a long and proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations. Tens of thousands of people have rebuilt their lives in the UK and we will continue to provide safe and legal routes in the future.
We have seen unprecedented numbers of small boat arrivals in the UK during 2020 – and we are determined to make this route unviable. We have been looking at what other countries do in response to similar situations – but that doesn’t mean we will do those things; and no decisions have been taken by Ministers.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2020 to Question 84331 on Immigration, whether people will be able to make applications in October 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On 10 September the Home Office laid Immigration Rules to enable the new points-based Student Route and Child Student routes to open on 5 October 2020. Eligible applicants will be able to apply under these routes from that date.
The opening of these routes is a significant milestone in the delivery of the UK’s new points-based immigration system. The Skilled Worker route will open later this year.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will permit the extension of visas where the person with the expiring visa cannot get a flight to their home country.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As is already stated in the published guidance on exceptional assurance for visa applicants in the UK and abroad: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents, if you intend to leave the UK but have not been able to do so and you have a visa or leave which expires between 1 September and 31 October 2020 you may request additional time to stay, also known as ‘exceptional assurance’, by contacting the coronavirus immigration team (CIT). https://hsforms.smartcdn.co.uk/webform.html
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the earliest date is for applications to be made under the new points based immigration system.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The new UK’s Points-Based System will be operating from 1 January 2021.
We will open key routes from Autumn 2020, so people can start to apply ahead of the new system taking effect in January 2021.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Australians used the Tier 5 visa route in 2019.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office publishes data on Tier 5 visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release).
Data on grants of Tier 5 visas by nationality are published in table Vis_D02 of the entry clearance detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk).
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to year ending March 2020. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the entry clearance summary tables (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/list-of-tables#entry-clearance-visas). The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on entry clearance visas.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance).
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK citizens travelled to Australia under the Working Holiday Visa in 2019.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Department does not currently hold this information. UK nationals’ usage of Australia’s working holiday provision is provided on an annual basis by the Australian Home Affairs department.