Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2013

Lord Eatwell Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2013 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach)]

My Lords, I am sure the Committee will recall that after discussion in Grand Committee I came to the House on 28 January and obtained approval to amend the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2011, which provides powers to charge for visa, immigration and nationality applications and services. I indicated at the time that I would return to debate the specific fees charged for the applications and services within the scope of that order.

These fees are set out in regulations made under Section 51 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. A subset of those fees set above costs is then set out in accordance with the powers granted in Section 42 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, as amended by Section 20 of the UK Borders Act 2007. Noble Lords will have seen the Immigration Minister’s Written Statement of 25 February, and I am happy to take points on any of the fee proposals here today, whether contained in these regulations or in those that will be laid shortly for fees set at or below the cost of processing.

We have sought to limit most increases to 3%, which is in line with recent measures of inflation. The fees that have increased by more than 3% include the following. First, the indefinite leave to remain fee is increasing from £991 to £1,051. The right to stay indefinitely in the UK is the most valuable entitlement provided by any product offered by the UK Border Agency. It is right that the fee for this product should not be exceeded by that for any products for migrants staying temporarily in the UK.

Secondly, for dependants applying to extend their leave in the UK at the same time as the main applicant, their fees were previously set at half the main applicant’s fees. We are reducing the concession on these fees so that those dependants will pay 75% of a main applicant’s fees. This is consistent with our policy to better align fees for applications made in the UK with those made overseas, where all dependants pay the full fee. It also reflects that each individual on an application may receive an independent set of entitlements, which will result in additional administration costs.

Thirdly, on registering for British citizenship, different fees currently apply to applications for naturalisation and those for registration, even though 99% of registration applicants receive the same status: namely, British citizenship. It is fair that those who receive the same entitlements pay the same fee. The fee for applying to register for citizenship will therefore increase to £673 as a first step towards alignment with naturalisation fees.

The fees for some applications have increased to reflect unit costs. These include those for reissues of or corrections to nationality certificates, nationality status and non-acquisition letters, and sponsors’ fees for tier 5 certificates of sponsorship and the tier 4 confirmation of acceptance for studies. It should be noted that some fees have also reduced in line with unit costs, including those for the transfer of conditions, renunciation of nationality and settlement visas for refugees’ dependent relatives.

We are also introducing some new fees. As I said when we debated the fees order, we are amending the way in which fees for applications made in person are structured. The main changes are as follows. A single uplift fee of £375 is payable, in addition to the relevant standard fee for applications made in person. This replaces a large number of public enquiry office fees in the existing regulations. The £375 in-person fee includes £100 payable for the arrangement of an in-person appointment. The fee is being introduced to tackle abuse of the public enquiry office booking system by organisations and individuals who have been making speculative appointments but then failing to attend. Such actions deprive genuine applicants of the opportunity to attend a PEO and damage a legitimate revenue stream for the UK Government.

A priority service fee of £275 for the expedited processing of standard applications via some routes will also be charged within the UK. Initially, this will be offered to selected tier 2 in-the-UK applicants, although we intend a phased rollout of the service to remaining temporary and permanent migration routes in future. In response to requests for such a service from universities and colleges, we are introducing, following a successful pilot, an extension of optional premium services to education sector sponsors in tier 4. Sponsors will pay £8,000 per year for an enhanced level of customer services.

A further £55 charge will be made for applications for documentation from EEA nationals and their non-EEA family members who are exercising free movement rights in the UK. Charging for these documents is common across Europe, and £55 will help the UK Border Agency to cover some of the administrative costs of this facility. Further, an extended-validity visa will be charged at £80 for those involved in the preparation of the Commonwealth Games, which are being held in Glasgow next year.

We have also taken the opportunity to split the fee for the tier 1 exceptional talent route to encourage more people to apply. As a result, migrants will know whether they are considered talented by the competent bodies before making and paying for a leave application. Following recent policy changes and a significant fee reduction, we also expect to see more applications via the graduate entrepreneur route.

The latest published data on UK Border Agency processing show that 91% of all applications received by the agency are processed within service standards. The majority of those applications are for visas for people coming to the UK, and we are exceeding our service standards for non-settlement visas. Where issues have arisen, particularly in the UK, the agency has taken steps to address them and expects that most of the affected application routes will be back within service standards by spring 2013.

Legal migration brings economic, cultural and social benefits to the UK. We shall continue to ensure that fees for immigration and nationality send a clear signal overseas that this country welcomes genuine visitors and the brightest and best migrants. These proposals support that message. We shall continue to monitor the economic, equality and diversity impacts of our changes. We shall ensure that our fees continue to be priced at competitive levels when compared with those in other key countries. These regulations provide a basis for a sustainable immigration system that will command public support, and I commend them to the Committee.

[Lord Eatwell]

My Lords, I shall refer to the applications-in-person fees that the Minister mentioned in his introduction. The idea that an efficient service is being provided in this case will, certainly in Cambridge, generate hollow laughter. I refer him to the case of a colleague of mine who, as a tier 1 applicant in person, has made a consistent series of applications for a personal appointment in order to secure an extension of tier 1 permission in good time so that she can attend important international conferences that are fundamental to her career and to the performance of her high-quality services here in the UK. Despite numerous telephone calls, hanging on for over an hour on one occasion, she was unable to obtain an appointment for a month. However, she was offered an appointment by a person in Turkey for £3,000. The Minister referred to the abuses that there have been in respect of applications in person, but I ask him why we are imposing a fee of £375 on such applications in person when the person making a profit of £3,000 will regard this as a perfectly good bet.

Why are we not improving the service? One thing that the Minister did not mention in his entire presentation was value for money. The service provided is lamentable. The British public, and indeed people resident here from overseas, are not receiving value for money. He described the fees as competitive with other countries. So what? Why do we not provide a basic service?

Eventually my colleague got an appointment in Cardiff. She went there to have her permission to stay renewed. The UK Border Agency office in Cardiff was deserted, although she had not been able to obtain an appointment. The reason, of course, was that the appointments had been jammed up by those who were illegally making appointments in order to jump the queue, because of the sheer inefficiency of the border agency in managing this process. Can we not say about applications in person that within the UK, for people who as tier 1 applicants are so important for the future of our economy, we will provide a decent service, which we are not doing at the moment, instead of imposing a higher fee upon them?

[Lord Rosser]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for explaining the effect of the regulations in what appears to be more detail and greater depth than was the case with the Minister in the other place. However, I am sure he will be relieved to know that I still intend to be brief, despite his very thorough explanation.

As we know, the UK Border Agency first conducted a full public consultation on charging for immigration and nationality applications in 2006, and that consultation led to the principle being established that the UKBA should operate a flexible pricing approach to setting fees for immigration services, to take account of wider policy objectives while reducing the contribution made by the taxpayer. As the Minister said, the regulations that we are considering today, which are pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2011, come into force on 6 April and replace similar regulations that have been effective since April last year. They set out the changed fees to be paid for immigration and nationality applications or services, which will also enable a significant part of the costs to be recouped.

We support the principles involved, including premium services that the Government intend to introduce. However, I am sure the Minister will wish to respond to the specific point made by my noble friend Lord Eatwell, which certainly deserves a considered response, about what appears to be a far from satisfactory situation.

Beyond that, I do not intend to say anything further about these regulations. I would simply comment that in the light of a recent Written Answer that I received from the Minister, it appears as though the Home Office might not be having as much success as it would wish in reducing or containing the number of orders and regulations in existence. I had understood that to be a government objective in pursuit of their objective to reduce what they have described as unnecessary regulation. No doubt at some stage in the future we will have the opportunity to consider that question in greater detail.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I thank both noble Lords for their contributions. Although different, both were very valuable. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, that the complexity of immigration rules and regulations is a matter of concern. I am fairly certain that we will have opportunities to discuss these matters in full.

This is a little like Topsy. Successive Governments have tried to deal with the complex issues raised through immigration rules and regulations. They need dealing with. I hope that Parliament can play its part in ensuring that this matter is made much easier to manage. That is no excuse, however, for the situation described by the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, and there are aspects of the UKBA that are of concern to the Home Office and to the Government in general. While I cannot comment on the specific case in point, I hope that I made it clear in my introduction that we were aware that there was abuse in this area and that false appointments denied people the opportunity of having a personal appointment to deal with their case. It is important to emphasise the value of such personal appointments. They enable key people to make sure that their application is dealt with and to have a face to face encounter.

Much of this is designed, as I think noble Lords will see from the university sponsor’s fee of £8,000, to try to make the UKBA much more consumer focused. The UKBA exists to serve the process whereby people can move in and out of this country and contribute to our economic, cultural and social life, points that I made at the beginning.

Perhaps I may ask the noble Lord whether he would mind documenting for me the case that he described. Government and opposition have a joint interest in making sure that the UKBA achieves, at least in governance terms, what I think we across the House and in this Committee would wish to see. It would be very helpful if the noble Lord could take the time to do that for me.

[Lord Eatwell]

My Lords, since I was very critical of the border agency in my earlier remarks, I should say that when my friend arrived at the deserted office in Cardiff, she received an excellent service.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

That is very reassuring. I think that the individual staff members of the UKBA are determined to turn the body around. I am satisfied that the organisation is heading in the right direction, but it is very useful to know where the pinch points are.

As noble Lords will know, we will consolidate regulation because we review the fees on an annual basis. It is right that we review the fees, but primary legislation requires them to be affirmed by Parliament. I hear the concerns expressed by noble Lords, both those of the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, in the generality and those of the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, in the particular. Meanwhile, I commend the regulations to the Grand Committee.