Robert Jenrick: The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees. Since 2015, we have offered a place to over 533,000 people seeking safety in the UK. The UK continues to welcome refugees through our existing resettlement schemes which include the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. The UK is proud to have welcomed Sudanese nationals through both...
Robert Jenrick: The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield. We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational. The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the...
Robert Jenrick: The Home Secretary wrote to the Chair of HASC on 30 August 2023, with the details of the first five countries; the letter will be published by HASC in due course.
Robert Jenrick: The Home Office is increasing application fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study in the UK. Increasing application fees, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), helps to fund vital services and allowing wider funding to be prioritised for public sector pay awards. We will lay regulations and legislation in...
Robert Jenrick: There are no plans.
Robert Jenrick: Asylum seekers who are in the UK asylum system and have had their asylum claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, are allowed to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupations List (SOL), which is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The list comprises skilled jobs where there is an...
Robert Jenrick: The majority of our visa routes are currently operating within their global customer service standards across all of the main legal migration routes for customers who make an entry clearance application from overseas. If exceptional compelling and compassionate circumstances are raised, these will be considered in the usual way. Details of current performance against these customer service...
Robert Jenrick: All visa holders are entitled to the same employment protections as resident workers. Nonetheless, the Skilled Worker route also includes a range of additional protections to ensure the welfare of migrant workers. These include minimum salary requirements to ensure workers receive a fair wage for the work they are sponsored to do, and an English language requirement which, as well as helping...
Robert Jenrick: The number of passport applications received is published quarterly in HM Passport Office’s transparency data. The most recent published data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-passport-offic e-data-q4-2022(opens in a new tab)
Robert Jenrick: In the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) review of the hospitality sector earlier this year they did not recommend adding any roles to the Shortage Occupation List. The review can be viewed at: Construction and Hospitality Shortage Review (publishing.service.gov.uk) The MAC are due to submit their full review of the Shortage Occupation List later this year, and the Government will...
Robert Jenrick: The cost of most work and visit visas will increase by 15%. The cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance and leave to remain visas, and priority visas will increase by at least 20%. We will also equalise costs for students and for those using a priority service so people pay the same whether they apply from within the UK or from outside...
Robert Jenrick: There is an urgent need to reduce reliance on hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, to reduce cost to taxpayer and to better manage community impacts. In exploring potential alternative large sites, we continue to consider all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation. Vessels have been used safely and successfully by Scottish and Dutch Governments...
Robert Jenrick: Every asylum claim is assessed on it’s merits.
Robert Jenrick: Moving into suitable accommodation will help those relocating and resettling to rebuild their lives in the UK, put down roots, gain employment, and have reliable access to public services like education and healthcare. The government has provided £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million of new funding to enable...
Robert Jenrick: 24,600 Afghans have been brought to the UK so far. The Government welcomes its responsibility to those who have worked for, and alongside, British forces in conflict zones. Any current or former staff directly employed by, or for, the UK Government and assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are eligible to apply for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). To...
Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications awaiting a decision can be found in table Asy_D03 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. Please note the data show a snapshot as at the last day of each...
Robert Jenrick: Warning letters are provided where there has been a breach in the conditions of asylum support. They are not taken into consideration during the substantive asylum application process because they bear no relevance to the substance of the claim. Asylum support is provided on the basis that a supported person and any dependants they have adhere to the terms and conditions attached to it. A...
Robert Jenrick: Asylum seekers are clearly advised of the expectations the Home Office and our providers have for them to behave responsibly while they are accommodated in our properties and not to engage in any form of criminal activity. All incidents are reported to the Home Office immediately by the providers which is a contractual requirement. We then work with the provider to put additional measures in...
Robert Jenrick: Regulations will be laid in Autumn to amend the Immigration Health Surcharge (Heath Charge) Order and a full economic impact assessment will be prepared. The expectation of the Government is that migrants coming to the UK to work should be able to maintain and support themselves, reflecting the principle that immigration to our country should bring economic benefits. The Immigration Health...
Robert Jenrick: Under successive Conservative Governments since 2015 we have welcomed into the United Kingdom more than half a million people seeking sanctuary through our country-specific routes and our global routes run in coordination with the UNHCR. These safe and legal routes have prioritised the UK’s finite resources on those most in need, bypassing the people smuggling gangs to reach those directly...
