Draft Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2022

Stephen Kinnock Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2022 General Committees

[Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) (Lab)]

Thank you very much, Mr Hollobone. I appreciated your pause before calling me to speak. I took the subliminal message in that very clearly and it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship.

I start by thanking the Minister for setting out the purpose and content of the order. For the sake of our national security and economic prosperity, we on the Opposition Benches firmly support the system for managed migration on the basis that it must be sensible, sustainable and humane. That includes keeping a clear record of who is entering and leaving our country and ensuring that they have the means to support themselves and their dependants. We therefore recognise the need to charge a fee for a visa, not only to cover the administration costs but to ensure that the applicant can sustain themselves for the time that they are here.

However, we are surprised at the dramatic rise, from £95 to £130, for six-month visitor visas. We understand the need to find ways to replenish the Treasury coffers after the economic earthquakes caused by covid and leaving the European Union, but is there not a danger that the increase will discourage tourism at a time when we need to get the UK economy firing on all cylinders? Is welcoming—rather than discouraging—tourism not a key part of the plan to build back better following 12 years of anaemic growth?

We will not directly oppose the order, because we recognise the tough economic choices that Governments must make, particularly in uncertain times. Nevertheless, we will appreciate it if the Minister considers reflecting on and answering the following questions. Will he set out the criteria on which the Government made the decision to increase maximum charges by the specific percentage that they have, and particularly by the sizeable 37% increase, from £95 to £130, for a six-month visitor visa? Will he explain in which circumstances the UK Government might charge that maximum fee? That is to say, will he confirm whether the £130 maximum fee will be applied to visitors from all countries to which the existing £95 fee is currently applied?

Will the Minister explain whether there will be different price points for visitors that undertake business visits and those coming only for leisure purposes? Will he state whether there will be different price points for single-entry visas and multiple-entry visas? What assessment has he made of the impact that that will have on the number of visa applications from ordinary holidaymakers, and the broader impact on our economy? What assessment has he made of that impact on Treasury fiscal balancing requirements? Will he commit to a periodic review to understand the impact that the changes we are debating today have had on people entering the country, on the overall numbers of visitor visas and on some of the broader questions about the impact on our economy? I look forward to the Minister’s reply.