Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Palestinians studying at UK universities have subsequently submitted an asylum application.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa, broken down by nationality, is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued, broken down by nationality, is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.
Please note that there can be a delay between visa issue and asylum claim so time periods may not be directly comparable. Furthermore, the latest leave held prior to an asylum claim may have expired and/or may not be the visa that was originally used for entry. Therefore, although this data is indicative of volumes, we cannot calculate the proportion of UK university students that go on to claim asylum from published data.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what oversight and verification processes are applied to medical evidence provided by general practitioners in support of applications under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; whether guidance is issued to those practitioners; and whether those practitioners are part of standard NHS GP services and contracted healthcare provision linked to asylum accommodation, including hotels, dispersal accommodation, and contingency and military sites.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
For information on support provided under sections 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Table AS_01 of the Asylum Support Data in the Migration Transparency Datasets provides the total number of applications for S4 support, with data available back to 2010. This table can be used to address questions relating to overall volumes of section 4 support applications.
Further detail on grants of Section 4 support is available in Table Asy_09c within the Asylum summary tables (Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK), which shows the of number of decisions to grant section 4 support. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2026.
Healthcare for asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation including hotels and large, former military, sites is provided through the NHS in line with national guidance for newly arrived migrants.
The Home Office does not routinely publish average processing times for Section 4 support applications by application type, including applications made on medical grounds or applications for additional support. The Home Office categorises Section 4 support applications as either imminent, where there is an urgent need for support, or non-imminent. Between June 2025 and May 2026, applications categorised as imminent were completed in an average of 3 days, whilst non-imminent applications were completed in an average of 9 days. Delays can occur where additional information is required from applicants or other departments, or where specialist medical advice is required as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people whose asylum claims have been refused have (a) applied for and (b) been granted support under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
For information on support provided under sections 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Table AS_01 of the Asylum Support Data in the Migration Transparency Datasets provides the total number of applications for S4 support, with data available back to 2010. This table can be used to address questions relating to overall volumes of section 4 support applications.
Further detail on grants of Section 4 support is available in Table Asy_09c within the Asylum summary tables (Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK), which shows the of number of decisions to grant section 4 support. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2026.
Healthcare for asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation including hotels and large, former military, sites is provided through the NHS in line with national guidance for newly arrived migrants.
The Home Office does not routinely publish average processing times for Section 4 support applications by application type, including applications made on medical grounds or applications for additional support. The Home Office categorises Section 4 support applications as either imminent, where there is an urgent need for support, or non-imminent. Between June 2025 and May 2026, applications categorised as imminent were completed in an average of 3 days, whilst non-imminent applications were completed in an average of 9 days. Delays can occur where additional information is required from applicants or other departments, or where specialist medical advice is required as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken from submission to decision was for applications for support under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for (a) applications made on medical grounds and (b) applications for additional support in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
For information on support provided under sections 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Table AS_01 of the Asylum Support Data in the Migration Transparency Datasets provides the total number of applications for S4 support, with data available back to 2010. This table can be used to address questions relating to overall volumes of section 4 support applications.
Further detail on grants of Section 4 support is available in Table Asy_09c within the Asylum summary tables (Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK), which shows the of number of decisions to grant section 4 support. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2026.
Healthcare for asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation including hotels and large, former military, sites is provided through the NHS in line with national guidance for newly arrived migrants.
The Home Office does not routinely publish average processing times for Section 4 support applications by application type, including applications made on medical grounds or applications for additional support. The Home Office categorises Section 4 support applications as either imminent, where there is an urgent need for support, or non-imminent. Between June 2025 and May 2026, applications categorised as imminent were completed in an average of 3 days, whilst non-imminent applications were completed in an average of 9 days. Delays can occur where additional information is required from applicants or other departments, or where specialist medical advice is required as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals whose asylum claims have been refused applied for support under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
For information on support provided under sections 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, Table AS_01 of the Asylum Support Data in the Migration Transparency Datasets provides the total number of applications for S4 support, with data available back to 2010. This table can be used to address questions relating to overall volumes of section 4 support applications.
Further detail on grants of Section 4 support is available in Table Asy_09c within the Asylum summary tables (Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK), which shows the of number of decisions to grant section 4 support. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2026.
Healthcare for asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation including hotels and large, former military, sites is provided through the NHS in line with national guidance for newly arrived migrants.
The Home Office does not routinely publish average processing times for Section 4 support applications by application type, including applications made on medical grounds or applications for additional support. The Home Office categorises Section 4 support applications as either imminent, where there is an urgent need for support, or non-imminent. Between June 2025 and May 2026, applications categorised as imminent were completed in an average of 3 days, whilst non-imminent applications were completed in an average of 9 days. Delays can occur where additional information is required from applicants or other departments, or where specialist medical advice is required as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that students from countries experiencing armed conflict who have been awarded scholarships at UK universities can take up their places; and what steps her Department is taking to provide assistance with (a) visas, (b) travel, and (c) provision for their dependants.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The UK welcomes students affected by conflict who wish to come to the UK through existing immigration routes. All individuals, including eligible dependants, must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules and are subject to robust security and visa checks.
The UK has a proud history of offering protection to those most in need. In the Restoring Order and Control statement published last year, alongside the measures to get control of the asylum system, this Government committed to introduce new safe and legal routes to offer sanctuary to those genuinely fleeing war and persecution from around the world.
As part of this, we will be introducing a new route for refugee and displaced students to study in the UK, helping talented refugees to continue their studies and realise their potential.
As confirmed in the Foreign Secretary’s statement of 24 June 2026, the Government has renewed support for high achieving students from Gaza and their eligible dependants to take up fully funded scholarships at UK universities for the 2026/27 academic year.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the average administrative cost per asylum applicant of processing an asylum claim, including costs associated with interviews, interpretation, legal support and casework.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
A breakdown of Asylum Costs and Productivity, is published in Table ASY_04 of the Immigration and Protection Data on GOV.UK: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
The latest published data indicates the total asylum cost was £4,757,226,306 for the financial year 2024/25. The average unit cost was £25,122 for an asylum claim in the financial year 2023/24.
The notes indicate the costs of managing an asylum claim include costs associated with deciding a case (screening clients, interviews and issuing a decision). However, they also include additional costs associated with appeals, support, detention, enforcement, staffing and buildings costs.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of immigration from people who do not have visa-free access to the UK in their home country but use golden visa arrangements to enter through a third-party country which does have visa-free agreements with the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp
‘Golden visas’ do not in themselves confer nationality, and thus do not automatically grant visa-free access to the UK. They grant residence in the issuing country only. While such schemes do carry risk as they can lead to the granting of citizenship over time, this typically requires a sustained period of lawful residence.
The UK’s visa system, including the Visa National List, is kept under regular review to ensure it operates in the national interest. Decisions on visa requirements, including which nationalities may travel visa-free or instead require permission (such as an Electronic Travel Authorisation), are based on a range of factors. These include security, compliance, returns cooperation and wider prosperity considerations.
Citizenship by Investment (CBI), or so-called “golden passport”, programmes differ from residence-based investment routes in that they offer a direct pathway to a new nationality, in some cases offering visa free access to the UK. The Government keeps the risks associated with such programmes under close review. Where appropriate, action is taken through the visa system. This has included the introduction of visit visa requirements for countries operating CBI programmes: Nauru (2025) and Saint Lucia (2026, principally for asylum abuse, with CBI a supporting factor).
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Chevening Scholars have claimed asylum in the United Kingdom since 2019.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.
The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Chevening Scholars have subsequently claimed asylum in the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.
The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.