Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide an update on the progress made by her Department in restoring the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In full consultation with relevant partners in Northern Ireland, the Home Office has formally ended the funded relationship with Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership (SMP) which was communicated to NI SMP and other relevant partners in April of this year. The Home Office will form a new agreement with the Government Department in Northern Ireland for which funding has been agreed.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department considers character statements submitted alongside asylum claim questionnaires.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Detailed Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims and all caseworkers receive the necessary training and mentoring support before making such decisions. Each case is considered on its individual merits. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/considering-asylum-claims-and-assessing-credibility-instruction.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2023 to Question 188802 on Migrants: Health Services, whether the Government has provided guidance to temporary visa holders who have paid the immigration health surcharge on accessing (a) their local GP and (b) other free NHS medical care.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office has published guidance on the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which highlights when an IHS payer can start using the NHS and what services an IHS payer is required to pay for.
The guidance can be found below:
Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Provision of healthcare is devolved, guidance on accessing healthcare in each part of the UK is issued by the appropriate Devolved Authority. Guidance on accessing healthcare from GPs in Northern Ireland can be found below:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/your-local-doctor-gp
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an individual is entitled to an Immigration Health Surcharge refund where they have paid the surcharge but have been refused registration with a GP as they were leaving the UK within 6 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Primary medical care, which includes access to, and medical care provided by, GP services, is free of charge to all overseas visitors, regardless of immigration status. Individuals, who have been refused registration with a GP are not entitled to a refund of the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).
The IHS is paid by temporary migrants who make an application to come to the UK to work, study or join family for more than six months, or to extend their stay in the UK. Payment of the IHS enables migrants to access the NHS on broadly the same basis as UK residents for the duration of their valid immigration permission in the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people on a charity worker visa who have paid the Immigration Heath Surcharge are entitled to (a) register with a GP and (b) access NHS care.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Primary medical care, which includes access to, and medical care provided by, GP services, is free of charge to all overseas visitors, regardless of immigration status. Individuals, who have been refused registration with a GP are not entitled to a refund of the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).
The IHS is paid by temporary migrants who make an application to come to the UK to work, study or join family for more than six months, or to extend their stay in the UK. Payment of the IHS enables migrants to access the NHS on broadly the same basis as UK residents for the duration of their valid immigration permission in the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish her Department's rationale for requiring people from Northern Ireland to submit a physical copy of their Irish passport when applying for or renewing a British passport.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
His Majesty’s Passport Office’s requirement for all customers to submit any other passport held (British or otherwise) when applying for a British Passport enables confirmation of identity and consistent name usage of all customers. This requirement is not limited to customers applying from Northern Ireland.
A colour photocopy of any other passport held may be accepted in some circumstances, including where the original passport is not available or the customer is unable to provide it, and can usually be accepted for applications to renew a British passport. Published guidance will soon be updated to make this clearer.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the necessity of relevant persons of Northern Ireland providing a physical copy of their Irish passport when renewing their British passport.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
His Majesty’s Passport Office requires all customers to submit any other passport held (British or otherwise) when applying for a British Passport.
This enables HMPO to confirm identity, relevant visa and travel history and evidence consistent name usage of all customers. A colour photocopy may be accepted in some circumstances, including where the original passport is not available or the customer is unable to provide it.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish an impact assessment for the proposed electronic travel authorisation scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office will publish the Economic Impact Assessment for the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme shortly. The Impact Assessment will be published once the ETA fee is set.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2023 to Question 177955 on Immigration: Enforcement, whether those outcomes will be (a) recorded and (b) monitored in the interim period before the Migrant Victims Protocol is established.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The outcomes will not be recorded or monitored prior to the Migrant Victims Protocol being established.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with counterparts in the Australian Government on a date for forthcoming changes to the Australian working holiday visa for UK nationals.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK and Australia signed a side letter on mobility in December 2021 alongside the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), setting out commitments on their respective Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) and Working Holiday Maker (WHM) programmes. The UK and Australia will make changes to these schemes so that they are available to people aged 18 to 35 years inclusive and for a total stay of up to 2 years, with the option to extend for a further year. Australia will also remove the requirement for UK nationals on their programme to undertake specific types of work. The arrangement states that the UK and Australia will implement these changes within two years of entry into force of the FTA.
We are currently working with the Australian Government on the next steps required to implement these commitments made to extend the provisions of the YMS and WHM.