HC Deb 21 June 1988 vol 135 cc514-5W
Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the fee for settlement and other long-term entry clearances(a) has been increased by around 20 per cent. and (b) is to be charged on a per capita rather than a per passport basis; and what total net income he expects to result from these changes to the end of this year and in subsequent years.

Mr. Eggar

(a) Settlement and other long-term applications take substantially longer, and thus cost more, to process than visit applications. The increase in this fee aims to reflect the disparity more closely.

(b) The amount of work involved in processing a settlement application relates to the number of applicants regardless of whether they are travelling on a single or a family passport. It was therefore decided that all entry clearance fees should henceforth be charged on a per capita rather than a per passport basis.

It is not expected that there will be any net income. Assuming settlement applications remain at existing levels, estimated additional revenue from these changes is about £500,000.

Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by how much entry clearance fees would have been required to be increased in the current year to recover costs of administering the entry clearance system.

Mr. Eggar

In the financial year 1987–88 the subsidy from public funds to the overseas entry clearance operation was about £9 million. With the fee increases introduced on 1 June 1988, it (s estimated the subsidy will be reduced to approximately £6.7 million by the end of the current financial year. Fee revenue would have to be increased by approximately a further 25 per cent. to meet the full cost of the entry clearance operation overseas.

Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what net income he estimates for the remainder of the current year, and in 1989 from making fees for single entry clearance non-refundable.

Mr. Eggar

Estimates can only be tentative at this early stage, but, on the basis of past refusal rates, it is unlikely that more than £300,000 will accrue from the decision to make fees for single entry clearance non-refundable.

Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why revised entry clearance fees were introduced with effect from 1 June rather than 1 January as in previous years.

Mr. Eggar

There is no set date for introducing changes to entry clearance fees. The aim is to recover the costs of the entry clearance operation by the early 1990s. It was decided that some increases from 1 June 1988 were necessary to meet that longer-term objective.