HC Deb 24 July 1991 vol 195 cc593-4W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from hon. Members during(a) each quarter of 1990 and (b) the first quarter of 1991 to delay the removal of passengers refused entry at British ports of entry; and, for both periods, how many representations resulted in (i) the delay of the passenger's removal for up to a week, (ii) the delay of the passenger's removal for more than a week and (iii) the reversal of the immigration officer's decision.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

This information is not collected centrally.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's current policy on enforcing deportation decisions against genuine students who have been found to be working in breach of their conditions of entry; whether he will publish his instructions to staff about this; what criteria he uses to assess whether a person is a genuine student; and whether he will list the colleges which he would not recognise as providing courses of study for overseas students acceptable under the immigration rules.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Any overseas student who wishes to work during his free time or vacations may do so by obtaining permission from the Department of Employment. Each case in which a student is found working without such permission is considered on its individual merits. As required by the immigration rules, all relevant factors are taken into account before deciding whether deportation is the right course. As a general rule, it is not our practice to remove genuine students under deportation powers unless their offences are serious and persistent. A genuine student in this sense is one who meets the requirements of the immigration rules for the grant of leave to enter or remain as a student. This approach is reflected in staff instructions. There are no plans for these to be published.

The Immigration and Nationality Department keeps records of information which has come to light about individual colleges, and account is taken of this by staff when dealing with applications from students. Staff are made aware of what information is available by means of internal notices which are part of staff instructions and are not published.