Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what checks are carried out during visa applications to identify previous sexual offence convictions overseas.

We take the issue of preventing foreign criminals entering the UK extremely seriously, and we continue to strengthen our borders so that we can prevent crime and protect the public, delivering on this Government’s commitment to tackle foreign criminality. For example, those required to obtain a visa to enter the UK are checked against a range of police, security and immigration databases for details of any UK or overseas criminal record. All applicants are required to provide details of their criminal history. Where it is found that they failed to declare relevant offences/convictions, their application will be refused and they will be subject to a ten-year ban from applying to enter the UK.

We do not hold information on the specific offences relating to refused applications.