Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the completion of his Department's review of the use of paragraph 322(5); and if he will publish the findings of that review.
Our review of applications by Tier 1 (General) migrants who were refused under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules is ongoing
As I stated in my letter to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee of 21 June, the first stage of the review was concluded by the end of May and I expect the remaining cases to be reviewed within the next few weeks. I will report the full findings of the review to the Committee as soon as possible thereafter
I also stated in that letter that, of the initial 281 cases reviewed, 249 applicants amended their HMRC records by more than £10,000. In many of the remaining cases, though the differences were less than £10,000, they were nevertheless substantial
There is no specific threshold which would lead to a refusal under paragraph 322(5). Caseworkers consider all the available evidence in the round when assessing an applicant’s character and conduct
Figures, particularly those in relation to legal challenges (which require a manual trawl of individual case records) are subject to change while the review is ongoing. We will therefore not be providing a breakdown or a running commentary, and it would be inappropriate to do so in relation to current litigation. We will provide more detailed information in relation to legal challenges in our final report.