Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of excluding (a) family members and (b) dependents from student visas.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Student route already restricts most students from bringing their dependants to the UK. Partners and children are the only family members which can be sponsored by students as dependants and only if the relevant student meets certain relevant criteria, such studying for a PHD or other doctoral qualification, or a research-based higher degree.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza with visas that are valid for more than six months his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to dependant rules for health and social care visas on closures of care homes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing health and social care workers to bring dependants subject to the requirement to pay the health surcharge.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2023, the Home Office published their estimated immigration impacts of the announced legal migration changes, including the restriction on bringing dependants for care workers and senior care workers. These are available at the following link:
This was followed by the 2024 spring Immigration Rules: impact assessment published in September 2024, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2023.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2021.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2022.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the acceptance rate for Adult Dependent Relative visa applications was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on Family visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Further information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to the end of June 2024.
Notes
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for an Adult Dependent Relative visa there were in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on Family visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Further information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to the end of June 2024.
Notes
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average decision-making time for an Adult Dependent Relative visa application was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Current processing times for Adult Dependent Relative applications applying for entry clearance to the UK are 12 weeks. Processing times for Adult Dependent Relative applications applying from within the UK are 8 weeks.
Further information on family visa processing times for applications made outside of the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Information on family visa processing times for applications made from within the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
NB: these links list Adult Dependant Relative applications as ‘Adult coming to be cared for by relative’.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what impact the changes to student visa routes introduced in January, which prevent international students studying on undergraduate courses bringing family members to the UK, have had on visa application numbers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes information on monthly Sponsored Study visa applications in the ‘Monthly entry clearance visa applications release’.
[Monthly entry clearance visa applications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]
Data on Sponsored Study visa applications from main applicants and dependants can be found in the accompanying dataset.
[Monthly monitoring of entry clearance visa applications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)].
The Home Office also publishes quarterly data on Sponsored Study visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ [Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]. Data on visa applications, by applicant type and nationality, are published in table Vis_D01 of ‘Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK’ [Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q2 (April to July) 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ [immigration - Research and statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)].