Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the policy rationale for treating Indefinite Leave to Remain applications as withdrawn if an applicant leaves the UK while a decision is pending; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this policy on young dependants.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In-country immigration routes, and any associated in country appeals rights, are designed to operate while the applicant remains physically present in the UK.
Where an applicant leaves the UK before a decision is made, the application can no longer be considered on the basis on which it was made and is therefore treated as withdrawn.
This approach maintains the distinction between in country and overseas routes, ensuring consistency with section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 (which can extend a person’s right to remain in the UK whilst their current visa has expired but they have an outstanding valid application under consideration) and aligns appeal rights with the appropriate procedural framework.
Applicants have the ability to apply for priority services if they know travel is likely to be imminent, alternatively if a person has an urgent need to travel outside the UK and do not wish their application to be treated as withdrawn, they can contact the UK Visas and Immigration hotline and we will consider whether expedition of the decision can be made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people from (1) Afghanistan, (2) Cameroon, (3) Myanmar, (4) Sudan, (5) China, and (6) Nigeria, are in the UK on student visas.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas and in-country extensions by visa type and nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Table 1 contains data on the requested nationalities for sponsored study visa grants and table 2 contains data on the requested nationalities for extensions on sponsored study visas. The data provided is for main applicants and dependants. Not everyone granted a visa, or extension, will currently be in the UK. The latest data is up to the end of December 2025.
The Home Office publishes the Migrant Journey report which provides data on the number of individuals who hold valid Study-related leave, by nationality, at the end of a given year within their immigration journey. Data on the number of migrants holding valid leave on a study route at the end of a given year are published in table MJ_D01 of the Migrant Journey detailed dataset and table 3. Not everyone with valid leave will currently be in the UK – the dataset counts people with valid immigration status rather than confirmed presence in the country. The latest data is up to the end of December 2024.
Table 1 – Grants on Sponsored Study Student visas, year ending 2021 to year ending 2025
Nationality | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Afghanistan | 329 | 819 | 1,853 | 454 | 277 |
Cameroon | 411 | 537 | 568 | 385 | 536 |
Myanmar | 487 | 1,124 | 1,575 | 1,778 | 2,084 |
Sudan | 308 | 341 | 290 | 262 | 242 |
China | 119,045 | 103,804 | 109,974 | 104,626 | 89,272 |
Nigeria | 42,969 | 118,896 | 95,498 | 27,170 | 37,090 |
Table 2 – Grants on Sponsored Study Student extensions, year ending 2021 to year ending 2025
Nationality | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Afghanistan | 10 | 17 | 37 | 13 | 45 |
Cameroon | 59 | 39 | 64 | 56 | 44 |
Myanmar | 79 | 178 | 294 | 227 | 279 |
Sudan | 64 | 75 | 101 | 54 | 47 |
China | 8,770 | 23,442 | 14,704 | 12,734 | 11,076 |
Nigeria | 3,788 | 4,707 | 5,015 | 4,649 | 3,894 |
Table 3 – Number of journeys where an individual held sponsored study leave at the end of 2024
Nationality | Journeys |
Afghanistan | 1,255 |
Cameroon | 885 |
Myanmar | 3,009 |
Sudan | 583 |
China | 221,855 |
Nigeria | 89,022 |
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of withdrawing the visa concession for temporary employment as sheep shearers on (a) animal welfare in Wales and (b) the Welsh sheep sector.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it is reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to fill this workforce gap. To provide plenty of time to plan and transition to new arrangements the sector was informed last year that the concession would not be renewed again.
In addition, those in the UK on visas which allow general work rights, such as dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with a) British Wool, b) the Farmers' Union of Wales and c) NFU Cymru on the withdrawal of the visa concession for temporary employment as sheep shearers.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it is reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to fill this workforce gap. To provide plenty of time to plan and transition to new arrangements the sector was informed last year that the concession would not be renewed again.
In addition, those in the UK on visas which allow general work rights, such as dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
Asked by: Tony Vaughan (Labour - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending temporary concessionary visas for sheep shearers on the total labour supply of sheep shearers for the farming sector.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to fill this workforce gap. To provide plenty of time to plan and transition to new arrangements DEFRA and the sector was informed last year that the concession would not be renewed again.
In addition, those in the UK on visas which allow general work rights, such as dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the Welsh Government on the withdrawal of the visa concession for temporary employment as sheep shearers.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it is reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to fill this workforce gap. To provide plenty of time to plan and transition to new arrangements the sector was informed last year that the concession would not be renewed again.
In addition, those in the UK on visas which allow general work rights, such as dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to visas for overseas shearers, particularly from New Zealand and Australia, on (a) animal welfare and (b) the local economy in South Suffolk constituency.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it is reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to fill this workforce gap. To provide plenty of time to plan and transition to new arrangements DEFRA and the sector were informed last year that the concession would not be renewed again.
In addition, those in the UK on visas which allow general work rights, such as dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of refusal to grant temporary visas to overseas sheep shearers on rural farming communities and animal welfare.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it reasonable to expect that over this period a long-term sustainable solution had been found to fill this workforce gap. To provide plenty of time to plan and transition to new arrangements DEFRA and the sector was informed last year that the concession would not be renewed again.
In addition, those in the UK on visas which allow general work rights, such as dependants or Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders, are free to take up work as a sheep shearer subject to the relevant visa restrictions.
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.