Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the requirement for people from Edinburgh to travel to Glasgow for biometric enrolment facilities on (a) disabled applicants, (b) applications for family visas and (c) people of limited means; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UK VCAS) centres are run by Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) on behalf of UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI).
Sopra Steria, undertook market research to identify initial service locations; their research included the impact on customer travel time, cost and accessibility. There are currently six core sites across the UK at which application submission services are offered free of charge and beyond that, SSL offer a range of enhanced services in a further 50 locations. These services enable customers to submit their biometric information (photo and fingerprints) and supporting evidence in one location. 62% of customers will, on average, have to travel less than 25 miles to visit a core service centre, with 78% travelling less than 50 miles. Appointments may be offered for individual customers and/or family groups to enrol their biometrics together.
SSL continue to assess customer demand, working closely with UKVI, and are planning to open a further 6 enhanced service locations throughout May and June, one of which will be offered in Edinburgh.
SSL are required to provide locations that comply with the Equality Act 2010 (including full compliance with the disability discrimination provisions) and biometric capture solutions are suitable for different customer groups, including customers with disabilities.
For customers who are eligible to apply using the Service and Support Centres (SSCs), it is estimated that 62% of customers will be within 30 miles of their nearest service centre and customers who meet certain criteria, which may include people of limited means; will be able to apply for travel assistance.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2019 to Question 225480, whether international students would be guaranteed a student visa under the new immigration system once their European Temporary Leave to Remain runs out, provided they pass an additional criminality check, without additional cost or administrative burden.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has been clear that there is no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the UK and there is no intention to impose one.
An EEA national who has been studying in the UK prior to applying for a visa or leave to remain for the purposes of study will be able to do so either under the current Tier 4 route or under the future system. There is no rea-son they should be unable to obtain such permission provided that they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules at that time.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Scottish higher education sector on the proposed three-year limit to the European Temporary Leave to Remain scheme in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has regular contact with representatives of the higher education sector, and the Scottish Government, and will continue to consult with the relevant stakeholders during the course of our 12 month engagement with stakeholders on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system.
Securing a deal with the European Union remains the Government’s top priority. However, it is prudent to plan for every scenario
The Government has been consistently clear that once the UK has left the EU, free movement will end. In a no-deal scenario a temporary, transitional arrangement will be implemented until the future skills-based immigration system comes into force.
In this scenario, once free movement has ended, EEA citizens will still be able to enter the UK as they do now during the transition period, for an initial stay of up to three months and will be able to visit, work or study without applying for a visa. If EEA citizens want to stay in the UK for more than three months, they will need to apply in the UK within this time for European Temporary Leave to Remain, which may be granted for a further 36 months.
This arrangement should cater for the needs of the majority of international students. However, we do recognise that there are a number of students for whose studies are longer than three years, including some studying at Scottish universities.
In the event of no deal, EEA citizens wishing to come to the UK to study for more than three years could obtain European Temporary Leave to Remain and, at the conclusion of the period of leave, apply for a student visa under the future immigration system.
Alternatively, the student could apply at the outset for a Tier 4 visa under the existing system which would enable them to secure leave covering the entire duration of their studies. We have been very clear that there will continue to be no limit on the number of international students who can come to study in the UK.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on EEA students wishing to study at Scottish universities of setting the time limit for the European Temporary Leave to Remain scheme at three years.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has regular contact with representatives of the higher education sector, and the Scottish Government, and will continue to consult with the relevant stakeholders during the course of our 12 month engagement with stakeholders on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system.
Securing a deal with the European Union remains the Government’s top priority. However, it is prudent to plan for every scenario
The Government has been consistently clear that once the UK has left the EU, free movement will end. In a no-deal scenario a temporary, transitional arrangement will be implemented until the future skills-based immigration system comes into force.
In this scenario, once free movement has ended, EEA citizens will still be able to enter the UK as they do now during the transition period, for an initial stay of up to three months and will be able to visit, work or study without applying for a visa. If EEA citizens want to stay in the UK for more than three months, they will need to apply in the UK within this time for European Temporary Leave to Remain, which may be granted for a further 36 months.
This arrangement should cater for the needs of the majority of international students. However, we do recognise that there are a number of students for whose studies are longer than three years, including some studying at Scottish universities.
In the event of no deal, EEA citizens wishing to come to the UK to study for more than three years could obtain European Temporary Leave to Remain and, at the conclusion of the period of leave, apply for a student visa under the future immigration system.
Alternatively, the student could apply at the outset for a Tier 4 visa under the existing system which would enable them to secure leave covering the entire duration of their studies. We have been very clear that there will continue to be no limit on the number of international students who can come to study in the UK.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to extend the three-year time period for the European Temporary Leave to Remain scheme for EEA students wishing to study at UK universities.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has regular contact with representatives of the higher education sector, and the Scottish Government, and will continue to consult with the relevant stakeholders during the course of our 12 month engagement with stakeholders on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system.
Securing a deal with the European Union remains the Government’s top priority. However, it is prudent to plan for every scenario
The Government has been consistently clear that once the UK has left the EU, free movement will end. In a no-deal scenario a temporary, transitional arrangement will be implemented until the future skills-based immigration system comes into force.
In this scenario, once free movement has ended, EEA citizens will still be able to enter the UK as they do now during the transition period, for an initial stay of up to three months and will be able to visit, work or study without applying for a visa. If EEA citizens want to stay in the UK for more than three months, they will need to apply in the UK within this time for European Temporary Leave to Remain, which may be granted for a further 36 months.
This arrangement should cater for the needs of the majority of international students. However, we do recognise that there are a number of students for whose studies are longer than three years, including some studying at Scottish universities.
In the event of no deal, EEA citizens wishing to come to the UK to study for more than three years could obtain European Temporary Leave to Remain and, at the conclusion of the period of leave, apply for a student visa under the future immigration system.
Alternatively, the student could apply at the outset for a Tier 4 visa under the existing system which would enable them to secure leave covering the entire duration of their studies. We have been very clear that there will continue to be no limit on the number of international students who can come to study in the UK.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether students arriving at Scottish universities under the European Temporary Leave to Remain scheme would have to apply for a Tier 4 visa mid-way through their studies in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has regular contact with representatives of the higher education sector, and the Scottish Government, and will continue to consult with the relevant stakeholders during the course of our 12 month engagement with stakeholders on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system.
Securing a deal with the European Union remains the Government’s top priority. However, it is prudent to plan for every scenario
The Government has been consistently clear that once the UK has left the EU, free movement will end. In a no-deal scenario a temporary, transitional arrangement will be implemented until the future skills-based immigration system comes into force.
In this scenario, once free movement has ended, EEA citizens will still be able to enter the UK as they do now during the transition period, for an initial stay of up to three months and will be able to visit, work or study without applying for a visa. If EEA citizens want to stay in the UK for more than three months, they will need to apply in the UK within this time for European Temporary Leave to Remain, which may be granted for a further 36 months.
This arrangement should cater for the needs of the majority of international students. However, we do recognise that there are a number of students for whose studies are longer than three years, including some studying at Scottish universities.
In the event of no deal, EEA citizens wishing to come to the UK to study for more than three years could obtain European Temporary Leave to Remain and, at the conclusion of the period of leave, apply for a student visa under the future immigration system.
Alternatively, the student could apply at the outset for a Tier 4 visa under the existing system which would enable them to secure leave covering the entire duration of their studies. We have been very clear that there will continue to be no limit on the number of international students who can come to study in the UK.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether UK citizens will be able to travel to the European Union visa-free and vice versa after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The EU has announced that UK nationals would be able to enter the EU vi-sa-free for short periods after the country’s exit, provided EU nationals en-joy the same conditions when travelling to the UK.
Whether we leave the EU with or without a deal, the Home Secretary has announced that EEA and Swiss nationals will be able to continue to travel to the UK for holidays or short-term trips, without needing a visa.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate the Government has made of the costs associated with ending the free movement of people between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government’s White Paper “The UK’s future skills-based immigration system” (Cm 9722) published on 19 December 2018, includes an annex setting out the economic appraisal of the impact of our proposals.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the (a) potential effect on immigration levels of the Government's new immigration proposals and (b) implications of those proposals for Government policy on reducing net migration to the tens of thousands.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government’s Immigration White Paper, the UK’s Future Skills-Based Immigration System (Cm 9722), includes an economic appraisal of potential impacts of the proposed future immigration system.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding has been made available to police forces for contingency planning in relation to the UK leaving the EU; which police forces have applied for that funding; how many of those applications have been successful; how much has been spent on that contingency planning to date; and whether that funding is available to police in Scotland.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Claims for EU Exit related policing costs for forces in England and Wales have been dealt with under the Special Grant process. So far only Kent Police have sought funding and have been provided with £845,000 to cover their planning costs. We are continuing to liaise closely with the force to ensure they have the resources they need.
Funding provided by the Home Office is only for forces in England and Wales. Policing in Scotland is a devolved issue.
We are also working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on implementing operation safety net to establish the International Based on NPCC proposals we agreed to allocate £2.4m of additional, national-level funding to the NPCC for this work in 2018/19.