Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026 to question 105591 on Veterans: Visas, what issues he has encountered in the delivery of a visa fee waiver for dependents of Commonwealth veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Home Office on the Government’s commitment to waive visa fees for non-UK veterans and their dependants. This work is ongoing, and the Department will update Parliament in the usual way once cross Government decisions have been finalised.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2026 to Q101187 on Veterans: Visas, by what date will he have waived visa fees for dependents of Commonwealth veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Work is ongoing with the Home Office to deliver the manifesto commitment to scrap visa fees for non-UK veterans and their dependants including those from the Commonwealth, but it is not possible at this stage to provide an implementation date.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the average number of dependent visas sponsored by Minister of Religion visa holders.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on dependants sponsored by holders of Minister of Religion visas in the ‘Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK’.
Data on dependants sponsored by holders of Minister of Religion visas is published in table Data_Vis_D02 of the ‘Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending September 2025’.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the a) number and b) proportion of dependent visa holders who are employed.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
An estimate of the number and proportion of dependant visa holders who are employed is not available, as not all the required information is held.
HMRC and Home Office have introduced a data sharing process to match visa data to administrative tax data. The Home Office published a research report on 12 May 2025 on the earnings, employment, and Income Tax liabilities of visa holders on Sponsored Work (Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, and Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility)) and Family routes. This report covers the cohort of visa holders (and their dependants) whose visas were granted between April 2019 and March 2023
The publication estimated that at least 45% of adult dependants of those granted Skilled Worker entry clearance visas and 63% of those granted Skilled Worker extensions of stay had PAYE earnings in financial year 2023 to 2024. For Health and Care Worker dependants, this was 67% and 70%, and for Global Business Mobility dependants, 25% and 24%, respectively.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals were granted entry visas to the UK under the high-potential individual route in (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release]. Data on grants of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’ [https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk].
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.
Figures for visa grants for the High Potential Individual route can be seen in the table below.
Quarter | Main Applicants | Dependants | Total |
2023 Q1 | 517 | 100 | 617 |
2023 Q2 | 583 | 85 | 668 |
2023 Q3 | 620 | 70 | 690 |
2023 Q4 | 493 | 76 | 569 |
2024 Q1 | 399 | 73 | 472 |
2024 Q2 | 544 | 56 | 600 |
2024 Q3 | 497 | 43 | 540 |
2024 Q4 | 357 | 31 | 388 |
2025 Q1 | 336 | 73 | 409 |
2025 Q2 | 605 | 70 | 675 |
2025 Q3 | 536 | 68 | 604 |
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the question of 10 September 2025 to Question 74120 on Armed Forces: Commonwealth, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the requirement for her Department to record the number of foreign and commonwealth service personnel who have paid for visas upon discharge on the number of foreign and commonwealth personnel staying in the UK after leaving the armed forces.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Non-UK service personnel who have completed four years’ service in the Armed Forces are eligible to apply for settlement in the UK under Appendix HM Armed Forces of the Immigration Rules. This route provides a pathway to settlement for non-UK service members and their dependants.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have dependent visas associated with a holder of a (a) Religious Worker and (b) Minister of Religion visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Religious Worker, and applicant type in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
Please note that Religious Worker dependants are grouped into the 'Dependant - Temporary Worker' category.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.
To calculate a refusal rate, we recommend that you take the number of refusals and divide by the total number of outcomes in a given period.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of visa applications were rejected by visa type since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Religious Worker, and applicant type in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
Please note that Religious Worker dependants are grouped into the 'Dependant - Temporary Worker' category.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.
To calculate a refusal rate, we recommend that you take the number of refusals and divide by the total number of outcomes in a given period.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have a (a) Religious Worker and (b) Minister of Religion visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Religious Worker, and applicant type in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
Please note that Religious Worker dependants are grouped into the 'Dependant - Temporary Worker' category.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.
To calculate a refusal rate, we recommend that you take the number of refusals and divide by the total number of outcomes in a given period.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to vet for public safety and security students and dependants from Gaza who are on expedited visas and are offered temporary leave to remain in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out by the Home Secretary in her oral statement to Parliament on 1 September 2025, the Home Office has put in place systems to issue expedited visas, with biometric checks conducted prior to arrival for all the Chevening scholars from Gaza.
The Home Office is in the process of doing the same for students in Gaza who have been awarded fully funded scholarships and places at UK universities so they can start their studies in autumn this year (no later than 31 December 2025).
All visa applicants are required to provide their biographic and biometric data to enable a range security checks to be completed, including criminality checks.
The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by terrorists, by criminals and by individuals excluded from the UK; previously deported from the UK; or using lost, stolen or revoked documents and visas. This includes the use of domestic and international watchlists. The Home Office works with both law enforcement and wider government partners to ensure appropriate action is taken before travel or at the border when individuals of concern are identified.