§ Baroness Lane-Foxasked Her Majesty's Government:
What changes they propose to make in the guidelines on the handling of representations by MPs and Members of the House of Lords in immigration cases.
The Earl of CaithnessThe change will substitute the following for paragraph 3 of the present guidelines:
"Representations to the Minister
3. A Member wishing to submit representations in the case of a passenger refused entry may request the Minister's Private Office, or, out of working hours, the Home Office Duty Officer, to arrange for the removal of the passenger to be deferred. If the passenger was refused entry because he did not have the required entry clearance under the Immigration Rules, action to remove him will not automatically be deferred. If the passenger wishes to come to the United Kingdom he should apply abroad for the required entry clearance. In other cases action to remove the passenger will normally be deferred for a period of 12 working days to enable the Member to submit written representations.
Note
An entry clearance may take the form of a visa, an entry certificate (for non-visa Commonwealth citizens) or a letter of consent (for all other non-visa nationals). Visa nationals require a visa whatever the purpose of their journey here. All other nationals require an entry clearance when coming for work, settlement, marriage leading to settlement or as a dependant of one of these categories."
Copies of the amendment have been placed in the Library and are available also from the Printed Paper Office.