Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what nationalities EU citizens who were refused entry at the UK border in 2023 were.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force does not hold the data to questions 1 and 2 in an easily accessible format. The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes statistics on passengers refused entry at the border, by nationality, in table Stp_D01 of the ‘Passengers refused entry at the border detailed datasets’ as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The latest data relates to the end of September 2023.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data up to the end of December 2023 will be published on 29 February 2024.
You asked whether EU citizens refused entry at the UK border in 2023 will be able to reapply to travel to the UK. Applications for permission to enter at the border are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the immigration rules. EU citizens should ensure they are properly documented for the purpose they are seeking to enter and check whether they need a visa before they travel. Guidance is available at www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
EU citizens not holding required entry clearance must be refused entry under paragraphs 9.14.1 of Part 9 of the Immigration Rules – but they may apply for clearance and seek entry after having obtained the required clearance.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, of the EU citizens who were refused entry at the UK border in 2023, how many and what proportion had a pre-approved visa in place.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force does not hold the data to questions 1 and 2 in an easily accessible format. The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes statistics on passengers refused entry at the border, by nationality, in table Stp_D01 of the ‘Passengers refused entry at the border detailed datasets’ as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The latest data relates to the end of September 2023.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data up to the end of December 2023 will be published on 29 February 2024.
You asked whether EU citizens refused entry at the UK border in 2023 will be able to reapply to travel to the UK. Applications for permission to enter at the border are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the immigration rules. EU citizens should ensure they are properly documented for the purpose they are seeking to enter and check whether they need a visa before they travel. Guidance is available at www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
EU citizens not holding required entry clearance must be refused entry under paragraphs 9.14.1 of Part 9 of the Immigration Rules – but they may apply for clearance and seek entry after having obtained the required clearance.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether EU citizens who were refused entry at the border to the UK in 2023 will be able to reapply to travel to the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force does not hold the data to questions 1 and 2 in an easily accessible format. The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes statistics on passengers refused entry at the border, by nationality, in table Stp_D01 of the ‘Passengers refused entry at the border detailed datasets’ as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The latest data relates to the end of September 2023.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data up to the end of December 2023 will be published on 29 February 2024.
You asked whether EU citizens refused entry at the UK border in 2023 will be able to reapply to travel to the UK. Applications for permission to enter at the border are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the immigration rules. EU citizens should ensure they are properly documented for the purpose they are seeking to enter and check whether they need a visa before they travel. Guidance is available at www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
EU citizens not holding required entry clearance must be refused entry under paragraphs 9.14.1 of Part 9 of the Immigration Rules – but they may apply for clearance and seek entry after having obtained the required clearance.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time taken was to process an EU settlement scheme application in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The following link contains more details in regards to EUSS processing times: EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
All applications made under the scheme are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on their individual circumstances.
The latest link to our quarterly statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-quarterly-statistics-september-2023
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Immigration on 23 June (HC189553), what progress they have made towards negotiating bilateral youth mobility schemes with EU countries, particularly France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, including EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.
We have recently agreed new YMS arrangements with Andorra and Uruguay. From 31 January 2024, nationals of these countries will be eligible to travel to and experience life in the UK for up to 2 years.
We have also agreed to enhance our existing schemes with Australia, Canada and Japan. For Australian and Canadian citizens who are looking to take advantage of the UK’s YMS, the age range will be increased from 18-30 to 18-35 and they will have the option of extending their YMS visa for an additional year, taking the total length of stay in the UK from 2 to 3 years. UK citizens will also have the same access into those countries. The annual quota associated with the UK’s youth mobility arrangement with Japan will increase to 6,000 places on a reciprocal basis. We are intending to implement these enhancements on 31 January 2024.
We remain committed to expanding our YMS to more nations, including but not limited to those within the EU. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's plan to implement The High Court judgment in Independent Monitoring Authority v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3274 (Admin) by providing those with pre-settled status a two year extension before it expires, what steps she plans to take to ensure that an (a) employers conducting right to work checks and (b) landlords conducting rent checks are aware that (i) a share code showing an impending expiration date is actually an EUSS pre-settled status and (ii) the expiry date shown is therefore incorrect and will be replaced with a new expiry date.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The guidance for employers and landlords has been updated to explain that EUSS pre-settled status will be automatically extended before the original grant expires. The wording on the Home Office online checking service has also been updated to highlight the extension of pre-settled status.
Therefore, if a right to work or right to rent check shows that a person is approaching the expiry date of their pre-settled status, employers and landlords will be aware, from the updated guidance and the updated wording on the online checking services, that a person’s pre-settled status will be extended. Once a person’s pre-settled status has been extended, the new expiry date will be reflected on the Home Office online checking services.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether certificate of applications issued to EU Settlement Scheme applicants cover claims to Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Individuals in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement (or equivalent citizen’s rights agreements with the EEA EFTA countries and Switzerland) can use their Certificate of Application to evidence that they have made a valid application to the EU Settlement Scheme. They will then be able to access Universal Credit on the same basis as before the UK left the EU – including needing to provide evidence that they are exercising a qualifying right to reside, such as a worker or self-employed status.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce requirements to prevent non-resident EU citizens from remaining in the UK for longer than 90 days out of 180 days, without obtaining a visa valid for 6 months at their own expense.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
All visitors to the UK (including those from the EU) are permitted to come for up to 6 months, regardless of their nationality or whether they require a visa in advance of travelling to the UK.
Nationals of EU Member States do not currently require a visa to visit the UK.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many British citizens were wrongly assigned pre settled status in each of the last five years; how many and what proportion of these people subsequently requested to have their pre settled status removed; and how many and what proportion of those requests were successful.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
If a British citizen mistakenly applies to the EU Settlement Scheme, the Home Office will void their application as they have a right of abode in the UK. Status under the scheme would only be granted in circumstances where, based on the information and evidence submitted in the application, it was not clear that the applicant was a British citizen.
The requested data on the number of British citizens wrongly assigned pre-settled status is not available. Where pre-settled status is granted to a British citizen, it has no legal effect.
The Home Office strives to make the correct decision for applicants first time in every case.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 to a British citizen father and an EU citizen mother have (a) submitted applications for naturalisation as their parents were unmarried at the time of their birth and (b) been granted British citizenship.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The data is not available. Immigration statistics are published as Migration statistics. Whilst these include statistics for naturalisation as a British citizen, they do not identify the status of the applicants’ parents.