Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on children and young people subject to immigration control of the increasing cost of limited leave to remain application fees.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Assessments of the impact of visa and immigration fee increases are published along-side the appropriate Statutory Instruments. The most recent relevant assessments can be found via the following links:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2016/10/pdfs/ukia_20160010_en.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/330/impacts
Exemptions are available for vulnerable groups such as children in local authority care. In addition, applicants for leave and further leave to remain on specified human rights grounds may be granted a fee waiver if they are destitute or face destitution, or for reasons relating to the welfare of a child.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will introduce the 100 per cent increase in the immigration health surcharge announced in February; and whether, before introducing that increase, they will publish a Children's Rights Impact Assessment of the likely impact on children subject to immigration control currently living in the UK who will need to apply for or renew their leave to remain.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government intends to introduce the change later this year. A full impact assessment will be published alongside the draft Order to be made under section 38 of the Immigration Act 2014.
The Immigration (Health Charge) Order 2015 provides clear exemptions from the requirement to pay the surcharge that are designed to protect vulnerable groups. These include an exemption for applications for leave to remain made by a child under the age of 18 where that child is being looked after by a local authority, an exemption for applications that relate to a claim for asylum or humanitarian protection and an exemption for victims of modern slavery.
These exemptions will be retained under the amended version of the Order. In addition, where an applicant qualifies for a visa fee waiver on destitution grounds, the surcharge is also waived.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Home Office research indicating that only one per cent of foreign students fail to leave the country once they have completed their course, whether they intend to encourage more such students to study in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There remains no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the UK and visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 14% since 2010.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which of the 34 current OECD countries include international students within their national immigration statistics, and which do not.
Answered by Lord Bates
The majority of our major competitors for the brightest and best students, including Australia, Canada and the USA, include international students in their national migration statistics.
The UK’s immigration statistics, published by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS), follow the internationally agreed United Nations definitions. These define a migrant as someone who changes their normal place of residence for more than a year. Students are therefore included in the same way as other migrants.
The categories of migrant included by other OECD countries in their statistical returns to the OECD is contained in the annex to the OECD International Migration Outlook at: http://www.oecd.org/migration/international-migration-outlook-1999124x.htm
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which were the 10 countries in which the highest number of interviews for potential international students in the UK took place, and what were the subsequent refusal rates for each country in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.
Answered by Lord Bates
The top 10 countries, in descending order, in which Tier 4 Student applications were undertaken and the subsequent refusal rates can be found in table to below:
2015 (Jan-Jun)
Nationality | Refusal rate |
CHINA | 3% |
NIGERIA | 14% |
SAUDI ARABIA | 4% |
INDIA | 16% |
TANZANIA | 17% |
PAKISTAN | 41% |
TUNISIA | 31% |
TURKEY | 6% |
BRAZIL | 8% |
VIETNAM | 15% |
2014
Nationality | Refusal rate |
CHINA | 2% |
INDIA | 14% |
NIGERIA | 16% |
SAUDI ARABIA | 7% |
PAKISTAN | 31% |
THAILAND | 3% |
BRAZIL | 3% |
RUSSIA | 7% |
TURKEY | 5% |
BANGLADESH | 26% |
2013
Nationality | Refusal rate |
CHINA | 2% |
INDIA | 18% |
NIGERIA | 19% |
PAKISTAN | 40% |
SAUDI ARABIA | 7% |
THAILAND | 2% |
RUSSIA | 8% |
TURKEY | 8% |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | 1% |
BANGLADESH | 22% |
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which countries credibility interviews of potential international students were undertaken by UK Visas and Immigration in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.
Answered by Lord Bates
UK Visas and Immigration interviewed applicants resident in the following countries for Tier 4 Student visa applications:
2015: Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tunisia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
2014: Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tunisia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
2013: Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Bahrain, China and Bangladesh.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the current visa regime has had on international student numbers in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
The student migration system we inherited was too weak, and open to widespread abuse, damaging the UK’s reputation as a provider of world-class education.
We have clamped down on immigration abuse from poor quality institutions selling immigration rather than education, and since 2010 we have struck off more than 900 bogus colleges. Visa applications for the further education sector, where abuse has been most prevalent over recent years, are down 74 per cent compared with 2010.
At the same time, we have maintained a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions. This is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 17 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 33 per cent since 2010.
We will continue to reform the student visa system to tackle abuse and deliver an effective immigration system that works in the national interest.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering making further reductions in the maximum university visa refusal rate in relation to Highly Trusted Sponsor status.
Answered by Lord Bates
Highly Trusted Sponsor status was replaced with Tier 4 Sponsor status in April 2015.
The maximum permitted visa refusal rate for Tier 4 sponsors was reduced from 20% to 10% in November 2014 to make sure that the colleges and universities who directly benefit from student migration help prevent abuse, and to ensure that institutions are only offering places to genuine students with an appropriate level of English.
Since the new rate was introduced, visa applications from students wishing to study at the UK’s world-class universities have continued to rise. Latest figures show that visa applications from university students are now 17 per cent higher than they were in 2010, and visa applications to Russell Group universities are 33 per cent higher than in 2010.
We will continue to keep the visa refusal rate under review but we have no imminent plans to change the maximum permitted rate.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of halving the maximum visa refusal rate on the Highly Trusted Sponsor status given to higher education institutions in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
Highly Trusted Sponsor status was replaced with Tier 4 Sponsor status in April 2015.
The maximum permitted visa refusal rate for Tier 4 sponsors was reduced from 20% to 10% in November 2014 to make sure that the colleges and universities who directly benefit from student migration help prevent abuse, and to ensure that institutions are only offering places to genuine students with an appropriate level of English.
Since the new rate was introduced, visa applications from students wishing to study at the UK’s world-class universities have continued to rise. Latest figures show that visa applications from university students are now 17 per cent higher than they were in 2010, and visa applications to Russell Group universities are 33 per cent higher than in 2010.
We will continue to keep the visa refusal rate under review but we have no imminent plans to change the maximum permitted rate.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which police forces are actively monitoring 20 mph speed limit compliance; and how many prosecutions were brought for speeding in 20 mph zones between 2010 and 2014.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office does not hold the information requested. Enforcement of speed limits is an operational matter for the police.
The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, unless stipulated in statute, the location of an offence cannot be separately analysed. Hence it is not possible to identify whether a defendant proceeded against for a speeding offence has been caught exceeding the speed limit in a 20mph zone. This information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales and as such it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.