Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving visas processes; and what steps he is taking to (a) lower costs and (b) increase the efficiency of visa processes for specialists from abroad.

UK Visas and Immigration has faced a number of pressures over the last two years and have seen high demand following the easing of travel restrictions as well as the crisis in both Afghanistan and Ukraine.

UKVI are committed to ensuring that its operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, increasing our use of contingent labour where necessary.

UK Visas and Immigration continue to regularly update their guidance on expected waiting times so that customers have a realistic indication of how long their applications will take to be processed and can plan accordingly.

Service standards are the official timeframes that UKVI work towards

Priority services have also been reinstated across our key visa routes which enables customers to receive a decision within 5 days for Priority Visa Services (PV) and the next working day for Super Priority Visas (SPV).

The Home Office keeps fees under review. Fees for migration and borders products and services play a vital role in our country’s ability to run a sustainable system. We believe it is right that those who use the systems should contribute to its cost, thereby reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.