Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing low cost visitor visas to support the recovery of the tourist economy following the covid-19 pandemic.

The Home Office recognises the importance of visitors to the UK economy and so has kept fees for Short-Term Visit Visas below the estimated cost of processing an application. Income from fees charged for immigration and nationality applications plays a vital role in our ability to run a sustainable Migration and Borders system.

The visa fee will normally represent a relatively small cost within the context of the overall decision to visit the UK, once costs of travel, accommodation and currency fluctuations are taken into account.

It is worth noting many coming from key markets for our tourism sector, including North America and Europe, are non-visa nationals so do not need to apply for a visa in advance of travelling here for a visit of up to 6 months, with EEA nationals and nationals of Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the United States of America able to use our e-gates (Where available) on arrival in the UK.