Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 work visa holders were waiting for their biometric residence permit to be processed as of 21 October 2022; and what the average wait was for a biometric residence permit for a Tier 2 work visa holder in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The waiting times for biometric residence permits (BRP) are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes.
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision. BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (FedEx) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
In September, DVLA produced all BRPs within 48 hours of the production request, with 91.1% being produced within 24 hours. In September FedEx attempted to deliver 99.88% of BRPs within 48 hours.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 4 student visa holders were waiting for their biometric residence permit to be processed as of 21 October 2022; and what the average wait was for a biometric residence permit for a Tier 4 student visa holder in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The waiting times for biometric residence permits (BRP) are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes.
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision. BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (FedEx) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
In September, DVLA produced all BRPs within 48 hours of the production request, with 91.1% being produced within 24 hours. In September FedEx attempted to deliver 99.88% of BRPs within 48 hours.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people with lawful right of abode are (a) currently waiting for a biometric residence permit card and (b) have been waiting for that card for more than 6 weeks.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The information is not held in the requested format.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time is for her Department to issue a biometric residence permit after an application has been approved.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The waiting times for biometric residence permits (BRP) are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes.
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision. BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (FedEx) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from the date of production request being made, to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
In September, DVLA produced all BRPs within 48 hours of the production request, with 91.1% being produced within 24 hours. In September, FedEx attempted to deliver 99.88% of BRPs within 48 hours.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Istanbul Convention will be ratified by 31 July 2022.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 21st July the UK ratified the Istanbul Convention, sending a strong message to women and girls across the UK, and around the world, that the Government is committed to tackling VAWG.
The Istanbul Convention is the gold standard for combating violence against women and girls (VAWG). The UK signed the Convention in 2012 and the Government has always remained committed to ratifying it as soon as possible. This commitment was reiterated in our Tackling VAWG Strategy, published last July.
Since signing the Convention in 2012, we have significantly strengthened the legislative framework and introduced a range of new measures, including new offences on domestic abuse, forced marriage and stalking; tools such as Domestic Violence, Stalking and FGM Protection Orders; and a range of guidance and support for professionals.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to measure the effectiveness of the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
Answered by Simon Baynes
The Migration and Economic Development Partnership will address the shared international challenge of illegal migration and is part of a suite of measures in the New Plan for Immigration to break the business model of people smugglers while maintaining a fair and robust immigration and borders system.
Recognising that the policy is still at an early stage, we are currently working on a monitoring and evaluation plan which will measure the effectiveness of this innovative arrangement . We will be able to set out more details on this in due course.
The European Court of Human Rights granted last-minute interim measures which prohibited the removal of three individuals set to be relocated to Rwanda on 14 June 2022. The European Court of Human Rights did not rule that the policy or removals were unlawful.. Therefore, no individual has yet been relocated to Rwanda under this partnership however as with all policies its impact will be kept under review.
We strongly believe that this project meets our obligations under both national and international law. We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings, however we have been clear from the start that we expect people to make legal challenges or barriers to removal. However, we will do what it takes to deliver this new partnership.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of asylum seekers that will be removed to Rwanda as part of the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership each year.
Answered by Simon Baynes
The number of individuals relocated to Rwanda as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership is expected to be in the thousands over the lifetime of the partnership, which is expected to last at least five years. However, there is no limit under the agreement so there is scope to increase this.
Regarding costs, the UK is investing an initial £120 million into the economic development and growth of Rwanda. Funding will also be provided to support the delivery of asylum operations, accommodation and integration. Every person’s needs are different, but we anticipate the amount would be comparable to processing costs incurred in the UK. Funding will only be provided while a person remains in Rwanda.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the annual cost of the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
Answered by Simon Baynes
The number of individuals relocated to Rwanda as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership is expected to be in the thousands over the lifetime of the partnership, which is expected to last at least five years. However, there is no limit under the agreement so there is scope to increase this.
Regarding costs, the UK is investing an initial £120 million into the economic development and growth of Rwanda. Funding will also be provided to support the delivery of asylum operations, accommodation and integration. Every person’s needs are different, but we anticipate the amount would be comparable to processing costs incurred in the UK. Funding will only be provided while a person remains in Rwanda.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the selection criteria by which asylum seekers' suitability for the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership is assessed.
Answered by Simon Baynes
As set out in the Home Office’s updated Inadmissibility guidance, published on 9 May, an asylum claimant may be eligible for removal to Rwanda if their claim is inadmissible under this policy and (a) that claimant’s journey to the UK can be described as having been dangerous and (b) was made on or after 1 January 2022. A dangerous journey is one able or likely to cause harm or injury. For example, this would include those that travel via small boat, or clandestinely in lorries. A case-by-case assessment will take place for every individual considered for relocation. No one will be relocated if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to reduce the backlog in processing applications for biometric residence permits.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are not aware of any delays in processing biometric residence permits once a decision has been made on a customer’s immigration application.