Visas: Migrant Workers

(asked on 3rd June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sopra Steria in handling UK visa applications for migrants living and working in the UK.


Answered by
Caroline Nokes Portrait
Caroline Nokes
This question was answered on 6th June 2019

UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centres are run by Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) on behalf of UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI). The new service offered by SSL provides a modernised, digital and more secure process for customers to submit key evidence and personal information.

UKVCAS also provides an opportunity for migrants living and working in the UK to opt for priority services to speed up their application decision and purchase additional, optional services from SSL to enhance the overall experience. UKVI regularly monitor SSL performance through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within the contract. Currently SSL are experiencing some demand issues, but I can reassure you that SSL continue to assess customer demand, working closely with UKVI.

As a result SSL have recently opened three additional service points in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester to meet the demand in the surrounding areas. In addition, to increasing the number of service points, SSL are working with the existing network of UKVCAS centres to increase the number of appointments offered to customers to increase overall capacity.

Reticulating Splines