Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 16 June (HL7929), whether Home Office statistics on transnational marriage abandonment include data on the number of children affected as co-victims; and if not, whether they will consider collecting such data.

Since 31 January 2024 those who find themselves a victim of domestic abuse in the form of transnational marriage abandonment (TMA) can apply for entry clearance (Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE)) under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse to the Immigration Rules.

Data on the number of applications under the TMA route is published each quarter on gov.uk under the category ‘Settlement VDA LTE’: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/682b151450dbd3ce8372abb4/visas-status-and-immigration-data-q1-2025.ods.

The data shows there were 9 cases in 2024 Q1, 17 in Q2, 34 in Q3, 23 in Q4. For 2025, the data shows there were 12 cases in Q1 and 17 cases in Q2.

This data includes partners and any dependent children as all individuals must be granted their own entry clearance to enter the UK.