Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in Gaza are awaiting results of applications for family visas as a (a) spouse, (b) partner, (c) fiancé, (d) child, (e) parent, (f) relative providing care of a British citizen, (g) settled resident and (h) person with protection status who applied (i) on or (ii) before 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of people in Gaza who are awaiting results of applications for family visas does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
Transparency data is however published quarterly on Gov.uk and includes data on the outcomes of visas issued on family routes, although this does not necessarily equate to entering the UK once granted leave.
The latest transparency data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for visas for Palestinian nationals were (a) rejected and (b) approved in (i) October 2023, (ii) November 2023, (iii) December 2023, (iv) January 2024 and (v) February 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish data at the level of detail requested, however, we do publish data on entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on work and sponsored study visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q4.
Every attempt is made to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration(opens in a new tab).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas for Palestinian nationals (a) are being processed, (b) have been approved and (c) have been rejected since 1 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish data at the level of detail requested, however, we do publish data on entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on work and sponsored study visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q4.
Every attempt is made to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration(opens in a new tab).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Mentions:
1: None threshold for family reunification from £18,600 to £38,700; notes that there were 82,395 family-related visas - Speech Link
2: None of Commons to urge the Government to not implement the increase in the minimum threshold for family visas - Speech Link
3: None From 11 April 2024, the minimum income requirement (MIR) for family visas will increase to £29,000, that - Speech Link
Asked by: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for announcing further dates on which the minimum income threshold for family visas will increase.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Net Migration is simply too high. This is why we have set out a package of measures to reduce net migration including bring the Minimum Income Requirement for family visas is in line with the new minimum general salary threshold for Skilled Workers, which is £38,700.
We will raise the minimum income for family visas incrementally, in stages. We intend to lay the family Immigration Rules we intend to lay on 14 March which will set out that from 11 April, we will raise the threshold to £29,000, that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in Gaza are awaiting the results of their applications for a visa as a dependant of someone in the UK on a (a) work and (b) student visa, who applied (i) on and (ii) before 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish data at the level of detail requested, however, we do publish data on entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on work and sponsored study visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q4.
Every attempt is made to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration(opens in a new tab).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Gaza have arrived in the UK following a successful application for a family visa as a (a) spouse, (b) partner, (c) fiancé, (d) child, (e) parent, (f) relative providing care of a British citizen, (g) settled resident and (h) person with protection status since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of people in Gaza who are awaiting results of applications for family visas does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
Transparency data is however published quarterly on Gov.uk and includes data on the outcomes of visas issued on family routes, although this does not necessarily equate to entering the UK once granted leave.
The latest transparency data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Mentions:
1: Tom Pursglove (Con - Corby) further reduce net migration are being implemented, ranging from salary increases for work and family visas - Speech Link
2: Tom Pursglove (Con - Corby) There will continue to be an in-country opportunity for people to apply to extend their visas. - Speech Link
3: Alison Thewliss (SNP - Glasgow Central) There is a bitter irony in the UK Government making changes to health and social care visas—a sector - Speech Link
4: Tom Pursglove (Con - Corby) We think this is an appropriate approach to extending the visas. - Speech Link
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting a visa waiver for Ukrainians visiting relatives and friends (a) displaced by the war in Ukraine and (b) temporarily resident in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Visit visas are an important part of securing the UK’s border.
Waiving visa requirements for a specific cohort of Ukrainian nationals would not be consistent with the purpose of the visa requirement. There is no obvious mechanism for delivering the utility of a visa application and biometric enrolment, which underpin the role visas play in securing our border, whilst also distinguishing a cohort of Ukrainian nationals who have the requirements waived. Identifying those individuals and enrolling their biometrics would require a process which would be, in practice, nearly identical to a visa application.
Ukrainians who want to visit relatives and friends in the UK can apply for a standard visitor visa, including multiple-entry visas. The UK has a visa application centre (VAC) in Kyiv, and a VAC network in neighbouring countries, enabling Ukrainians to access these services and apply for visas.
This is in no way a reflection on our support for Ukraine which remains, and will always remain, steadfast. The Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme remains open for new applications from those wishing to come to the UK, seeking temporary sanctuary from the conflict.
To provide future certainty, we recently announced the new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, which is a new visa scheme for existing Ukraine scheme visa holders who have made the UK their temporary home. It will provide permission to stay in the UK for an additional 18 months and is due to open early in 2025.
Feb. 29 2024
Source Page: Visas and citizenship data: Q4 2023Found: Visas and citizenship data: Q4 2023