Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to encourage non-UK military personnel who are leaving the UK Armed Forces and who wish to remain in the UK to apply for residency for their families before their service ends.

Applying to Settle in the UK is a personal choice and some non-UK families will already have Settled status before the Service Person leaves the military. The MOD works closely with our non-UK personnel to make sure that they and their families are aware of how they can attain settlement in the UK, should they wish to do so.

We keep our personnel guidance under regular review and as part of that ongoing process we update non-UK content, from the point of recruitment, including information on recruitment websites, right through Service life. In addition, through the Armed Forces Covenant Trust, a further immigration advisor has also been employed by the Army Families Federation to help deal with their casework.