Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wendy Chamberlain and Seema Malhotra

Monday 2nd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

1. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of UK Visas and Immigration processing times.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)]

UK Visas and Immigration processes millions of visa applications each year. Most of them are processed to the published customer service standards, which is a huge tribute to our hard-working staff, and indeed most straightforward applications are decided within three weeks. In the year ending March 2025, more than 2.1 million visit visas, more than 190,000 work visas and more than 22,000 health and social care visas were issued. On occasion, as the hon. Member may be aware, there are some technical or processing errors, which are resolved as quickly as possible when they come to light.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

This is not about call centre answering and application processing times; it is about the backlog in digital status becoming fully operational. A North East Fife constituent has settled status and has done all the steps in setting up her UKVI account, yet on both her recent trips abroad she was told that her passport was not linked to her e-visa. Is this a one-off, in which case can the Minister review what has gone wrong? Or is it a system failure, in which case what is the Minister doing to address it?

[Seema Malhotra]

I thank the hon. Member for her question. I would be happy to look at that case. The personal details on the document associated with that person’s e-visa may well have not been updated. Updating the details may be the first step necessary, after which the issue may go away.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wendy Chamberlain and Seema Malhotra

Monday 25th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

5. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)]

We are determined to honour our commitment to those who supported us in Afghanistan and who stood up for freedom and democracy, placing their own lives at risk. To date, the Afghan schemes have brought over 32,000 people to safety in the UK, including thousands through the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme. We aim to continue to relocate eligible individuals through our established schemes as quickly as possible.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

A major issue of concern for Afghans who have been here since the opening of the scheme is that their residency permits are now up for renewal. I am sure the Government do not want to render illegal those whom we welcomed to the UK. Can we have some guidance from the Home Office about some of the questions that people have asked me: where do people go for renewal; how is the Home Office responding to those who have had several changes of address; and if there is a cost, what happens to those who cannot pay?

[Seema Malhotra]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and for all her work for those who are here from Afghanistan. We continue to seek to email and notify all individuals currently resettled in the UK whom we are aware of, and I will certainly continue to discuss with her the methods we are using for those facing other issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wendy Chamberlain and Seema Malhotra

Monday 29th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

The seasonal agricultural workers scheme remains absolutely vital for farmers, largely due to the piecemeal nature of its running by the last Government, which means that farmers have not been able to make the investment decisions that they want to. Will the Home Secretary commit now to a scheme for the whole of this Parliament to provide certainty to farmers and workers?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)]

The hon. Member will know that the Migration Advisory Committee recently produced a report on the seasonal workers scheme. The report is being kept under review and we will update the House in due course.