Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the webchat service offered by the International Enquiry Service has been unavailable when required by enquirers.

In July 2014 a decision was taken to cease the Web chat service provided by the International Enquiry Service. This allowed the provider to focus on the higher volumes of enquiries being received through the email and phone channels. These channels are currently delivering their services within published service standards. In addition, customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk.