Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of waiving visa fees for otherwise eligible foreign or commonwealth citizens who apply for indefinite leave to remain at least 28 days after their discharge from HM Forces.

This Government hugely values every member of our outstanding Armed Forces and we are humbled when non-UK nationals choose to serve our country. It is for these reasons we explicitly provide for non-UK veterans discharged from HM Forces to obtain settlement in the UK.

Home Office guidance gives caseworkers the flexibility to consider cases outside the Immigration Rules for discharged members of HM Forces who have not yet regularised their immigration status:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-forces-applications-on-discharge

It is not possible to estimate the number of non-UK former members of HM Forces living in the UK who have not made an application for indefinite leave to remain despite being eligible to do so, as there are other options available to those who discharge. Some may choose to return to their country of nationality, while others may naturalise as British citizens during their service.

The Home Office is engaging with MPs, campaigners and members of the public to assess whether those who have served in the Armed Forces should continue to pay settlement fees. The Home Secretary recently met the Defence Secretary to consider how we can offer greater flexibility and support for such people, and their families, in future. Subject to collective agreement, the Ministry of Defence will be launching a public consultation on this issue in due course.