Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar on the recent earthquake in Morocco; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar regarding the recent earthquake. The British Embassy in Rabat has relayed the Government of Gibraltar's offer of support and assistance to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates for its consideration.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department has recorded the presence of a Spanish naval vessel in Gibraltarian territorial waters in each of the past six months.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence has recorded the presence of 11 Spanish naval vessels in Gibraltarian territorial waters in the last six months. This is broken down by month as follows:
Month | Innocent Passage | Surface Incursion | Total |
Apr | 1 | 1 | 2 |
May | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Jun | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Jul | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Aug | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Sep | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people to use Gibraltan identity cards at eGates.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
To be eligible for entry via an e-gate at present, a traveller must hold a machine-readable biometric passport. Cards are not compatible.
The Government has an ambitious vision for the future UK border, in which most people crossing the border will experience an e-gate style arrival, using automation as their only point of contact.
We continue to look at options for expanding the use of e-gates to cohorts of passenger not currently able to use them.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Gibraltar, (b) Spain and (c) the EU on the border between Gibraltar and Spain, in the context of Spanish elections in July 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is steadfast in its support for Gibraltar. Working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, we are committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar as soon as possible. A treaty that ensures the fluid movement of people between Gibraltar and the EU can secure future prosperity for the whole region. We will not agree to anything which compromises sovereignty and continue to support the Government of Gibraltar in contingency planning for no negotiated outcome. The Foreign Secretary and I are in regular contact with our counterparts in Gibraltar, the European Commission, and Spain. I [Minister Docherty] met with the Deputy Chief Minister on 17 July to discuss negotiations and no negotiated outcome contingency planning.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to grant an exemption to siblings of UK nationals living in Europe and studying at UK universities prior to 1 January 2028 to allow them to qualify for (a) home fee status for university tuition and (b) student finance for courses starting after 1 January 2028.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 define a family member of a UK national as either the person's spouse or civil partner, direct descendants of the person, or the person's spouse or civil partner who are either under the age of 21, or dependants. There are no plans to amend this definition to include siblings.
UK nationals and their family members who were living in the European Economic Area (EEA) (excluding the UK and Gibraltar) or Switzerland on 31 December 2020, or who returned to live in the UK on or after 1 January 2018 following a period of ordinary residence in the EEA or Switzerland, continue to be eligible for home fee status, tuition fee loans and maintenance support for courses commencing before 1 January 2028. This measure was introduced so as to ensure a substantial transition period for those UK nationals who had moved to the EEA or Switzerland prior to the end of the transition period. The department has no plans to extend this period further.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to improve the student visa application process for students from British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
For students residing in the following British Overseas Territories local biometric enrolment services are available to enable customers to complete a UK visa application: the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and St Helena. Customers in the sovereign base areas of Akrotiri or Dhekelia are able to submit applications at the Visa Application Centre in Nicosia.
In view of the small volumes of customers in other British Overseas Territories it is not viable to operate a Visa Application Centre or temporary biometric enrolment service. Customers in these locations are advised to submit their application at the nearest or most convenient location where such a service if offered. Full details are set on our website: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-visa-application-centre
UKVI encourages all customers to apply in good time ahead of intended travel dates. Customers can also opt for one of our priority visa services, for an additional fee, where available in that location, which includes Cayman Islands and Nicosia South.
UKVI considers applications in line with published service standards, and this includes factors relating to logistics timescales for the customer receiving the vignette and their returned passport.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving priority to students from British Overseas Territories in the student visa application process.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
For students residing in the following British Overseas Territories local biometric enrolment services are available to enable customers to complete a UK visa application: the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and St Helena. Customers in the sovereign base areas of Akrotiri or Dhekelia are able to submit applications at the Visa Application Centre in Nicosia.
In view of the small volumes of customers in other British Overseas Territories it is not viable to operate a Visa Application Centre or temporary biometric enrolment service. Customers in these locations are advised to submit their application at the nearest or most convenient location where such a service if offered. Full details are set on our website: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-visa-application-centre
UKVI encourages all customers to apply in good time ahead of intended travel dates. Customers can also opt for one of our priority visa services, for an additional fee, where available in that location, which includes Cayman Islands and Nicosia South.
UKVI considers applications in line with published service standards, and this includes factors relating to logistics timescales for the customer receiving the vignette and their returned passport.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic assistance his Department is providing to the UK Overseas Territories in their engagement with the European Union.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We work in partnership with the British Overseas Territories to promote and safeguard their interests with international partners. We use our diplomatic resources and influence to support and facilitate their engagement with the European Union. For example, we support the Overseas Territory Governments to access EU markets and the opening of local offices in Brussels. The UK, working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, remains committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar as soon as possible.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to encourage UK students to study at the University of Gibraltar.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department encourages prospective students to choose to study at an institution that best meets their needs and interests. The department understands that there are UK students who have chosen to study at the University of Gibraltar, either funded privately or on a scholarship. The department is currently exploring whether it would be possible to finance English students to study in Gibraltar, whilst ensuring that those students receive an education and benefit from safeguards which are broadly comparable with those in England.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 25 May (HL Deb, col 1063), what plans they have to reform the application process for student visas for British Overseas Territory passport holders.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
While a British Overseas Territory (BOT) passport holder is not automatically a British Citizen, a person who is both a British citizen and British overseas territories citizen will have the right of abode in the UK, and so will not need to apply for a visa to study here. However, they may need to show that they are a British citizen, and so may wish to apply for a British citizen passport or certificate of entitlement to the right of abode. British overseas citizens who are not also British citizens will need to apply for a visa.
BOT citizens who are not eligible for British citizenship can apply for a student visa online, which requires biometrics to be provided.
Biometric enrolment services for those who hold a BOT passport and who wish to make a UK visa application are available in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, St Helena and, for those in the Sovereign Base areas of Akrotiri or Dhekelia, via Nicosia.
It would not be commercially viable to operate a visa application centre or temporary biometrics enrolment service in the remaining BOTs due to the small volume of customers and/or remote locations of these territories. This may mean travelling to a nearby location.
As part of our Future Borders and Immigration System programme, we continue to roll out digitisation of all our application processes, which in future will minimise the requirement to attend visa application centres.