Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Turkish Businessperson visa extension application decisions have taken over 6 months in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest data on ECAA matters is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.
The most recent published data for outstanding ECCA applications can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Under Visas and Citizenship Data, Tab VSI_03 includes the number of straightforward applications and non-straightforward applications which remained outstanding at the end of the last reported period.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Turkish Businessperson visa extension applications are currently outstanding; and how many of those have been waiting for more than 6 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest data on ECAA matters is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.
The most recent published data for outstanding ECCA applications can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Under Visas and Citizenship Data, Tab VSI_03 includes the number of straightforward applications and non-straightforward applications which remained outstanding at the end of the last reported period.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for Turkish Businessperson visa extension applications in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest data on ECAA matters is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.
The most recent published data for outstanding ECCA applications can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Under Visas and Citizenship Data, Tab VSI_03 includes the number of straightforward applications and non-straightforward applications which remained outstanding at the end of the last reported period.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the (a) average time taken to process a Turkish Businessperson visa extension applications and (b) proportion of those applications which have been refused in each of last five years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The current average processing times of work routes visa extensions is 6 months.
The transparency data includes a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Home Office publishes data on ECAA Businesspersons in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release(opens in a new tab)’.
Data on applications for ECAA Businesspersons are published in table Vis_D01 of the entry clearance visa detailed dataset. Data on the number of ECAA Businesspersons issued and refused are included in table Vis_D02. These data may be selected using the ‘ECAA Businessperson’ visa type subgroup.
Information on how to use the entry clearance visa detailed dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to year ending March 2022.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to provide visas for workers in food production.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On Monday 13th June, the government launched a new Food Strategy, which will seek to address challenges faced by the sector. Recognising the sector cannot sustainably rely on migrant labour, especially in light of global pressures elsewhere, the strategy sets out that Government will commission an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, considering the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration routes.
To support the sector, the Government will release 10,000 additional visas for the seasonal worker visa route, with 2,000 of these going to the poultry sector for the eight-week period prior to Christmas. This is to cover the surge in demand for chicken, turkey and goose during the festive season and to ensure the smooth running of the food supply chain.
The Government introduced the Points Based System in 2020 which is designed to attract the skills and expertise which the UK requires. Acting upon advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the Government broadened the skills threshold of the Skilled Worker route and introduced a lower salary threshold which, as modelling by the MAC suggests, strikes a reasonable balance between access to labour and controlling immigration. The independent review’s consideration of the role of migration will therefore need to be with reference to the MAC’s advice. A number of roles in the food production sector are already eligible for a Skilled Worker visa.
For those roles in the sector which do not meet the threshold for the Skilled Worker route, there is the domestic labour market which includes UK workers and migrants with general work rights. The Government does not intend to introduce a route for those who do not meet the skills and salary threshold allowing recruitment at or near minimum wage.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to expand the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On Monday 13th June, the government launched a new Food Strategy, which will seek to address challenges faced by the sector. Recognising the sector cannot sustainably rely on migrant labour, especially in light of global pressures elsewhere, the strategy sets out that Government will commission an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, considering the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration routes.
To support the sector, the Government will release 10,000 additional visas for the seasonal worker visa route, with 2,000 of these going to the poultry sector for the eight-week period prior to Christmas. This is to cover the surge in demand for chicken, turkey and goose during the festive season and to ensure the smooth running of the food supply chain.
The Government introduced the Points Based System in 2020 which is designed to attract the skills and expertise which the UK requires. Acting upon advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the Government broadened the skills threshold of the Skilled Worker route and introduced a lower salary threshold which, as modelling by the MAC suggests, strikes a reasonable balance between access to labour and controlling immigration. The independent review’s consideration of the role of migration will therefore need to be with reference to the MAC’s advice. A number of roles in the food production sector are already eligible for a Skilled Worker visa.
For those roles in the sector which do not meet the threshold for the Skilled Worker route, there is the domestic labour market which includes UK workers and migrants with general work rights. The Government does not intend to introduce a route for those who do not meet the skills and salary threshold allowing recruitment at or near minimum wage.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many ECAA visa renewal cases are waiting to be processed.
Answered by Kevin Foster
This information requested is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.
The most recent data that is published can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Information relating to ECAA Businesspersons under consideration can be found on worksheet VC_03.
Data for Q4 2021 will be published in the next transparency data release.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when people with outstanding Turkish Businessperson visa applications will receive a decision on their application.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We received a significant increase in Turkish ECAA overseas applications before the route closed. Caseworking teams in UKVI continue to process ECAA applications and are focused on resolving them as quickly as possible.
At times, we may identify further information which is required in individual applications and need to contact applicants for this.
Some applications also require additional checks to be undertaken by the Home Office which may cause delays pending these essential checks being undertaken.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in assessing outstanding Turkish Businessperson visas, for applications made in 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We received a significant increase in Turkish ECAA overseas applications before the route closed. Caseworking teams in UKVI continue to process ECAA applications and are focused on resolving them as quickly as possible.
At times, we may identify further information which is required in individual applications and need to contact applicants for this.
Some applications also require additional checks to be undertaken by the Home Office which may cause delays pending these essential checks being undertaken.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Turkish Businessperson visa applications received be her Department in the last five years were successful.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office publishes data on ECAA Businesspersons in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release(opens in a new tab)’.
Data on applications for ECAA Businesspersons are published in table Vis_D01 of the entry clearance visa detailed dataset. Data on the number of ECAA Businesspersons issued and refused are included in table Vis_D02. These data may be selected using the ‘ECAA Businessperson’ visa type subgroup.