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 reducing the cost of visas for foreign national spouses of UK national NHS workers who have worked for the NHS during the covid-19 outbreak.

The government is hugely grateful for the vital contributions made by NHS staff during the pandemic and have brought in a range of unprecedented measures to ensure the sector is supported fully.

This has included the introduction of a Health and Care Visa, which provides fast track entry, reduced fees and dedicated support for professionals and their families, along with exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge. Further free 12-month extensions were also announced last week for crucial frontline health workers and their dependents.

Fees, however, apply equally to all those settled in the UK who are seeking to sponsor family members to come to the UK. Relaxing these fees for the family members of NHS workers only, would undermine this principle.

Fees are set taking account of the charging powers provided by Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014, which include the ability set fees based on: the cost of processing the application, the benefits and entitlements provided by a successful application and the wider cost of the Border, Immigration and Citizenship system. Full details of which can be reviewed via the following link:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/68.

The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under review and ensures they are within the parameters agreed with HM Treasury and Parliament.