Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the intended purpose of powers granted to the Home Office under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules to deny indefinite leave to remain applications; and whether minor tax errors on a indefinite leave to remain application warrant the use of said powers.

It is not the Government’s policy to refuse applications solely due to minor tax errors. Where these are identified, applicants are given a right to explain any discrepancy. Any such case is signed off by a manager before refusal grounds are applied.

We have refused applications where there are substantial differences – often tens of thousands of pounds – between the earnings used to claim points in an immigration application and an applicant’s HMRC records, without a credible explanation from the applicant. We take all available evidence into account before making a decision. Paragraph 322(5) is used where the evidence shows that an applicant’s character and conduct is such that their application should be refused.

As the Immigration Minister advised the Home Affairs Select Committee on 8 May, we will carry out a review of these cases to see how many showed clear evidence of deceit, and how many were minor errors.