§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the United Kingdom will have the discretion to admit a person whose name is on the persona non grata list envisaged in the draft regulation for a common visa list when there are strong compassionate or other reasons justifying admission.
§ Mr. Charles WardleUnder article 12 of the draft external frontiers convention a member state would have discretion to admit a person who was on the joint list of inadmissible persons established under article 10 of the convention, on humanitarian grounds, in the national interest or by reason of international commitments. Entry given in such circumstances would, however, be restricted 493W solely to the territory of the member state concerned and there would be a duty to inform other member states of the decision taken.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an unemployed Irish national married to a non-European Economic Area spouse will be issued with a residence permit automatically, by virtue of rights to settle under the provisions of the common travel area.
§ Mr. Charles WardleNo. Any application made by an Irish national for a residence permit under the provisions of EC law will be dealt with in accordance with the Immigration (European Economic Area) Order 1994, in the same way as an application from a national of any other European Economic Area state. However, Irish nationals will continue to be regarded as settled here under domestic immigration law.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the United Kingdom will have the discretion to refuse entry to a person who has been granted a European visa; and what rights of appeal or redress will apply.
§ Mr. Charles WardleUnder the draft external frontiers convention a person holding a uniform visa would not require a United Kingdom national visa to gain entry to the country, but possession of a uniform visa would not entitle the holder to admission. Refusal of admission to a person holding a uniform visa would not attract a right of appeal since uniform visas will be available only for short stays.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for primary legislation to remove the benefits of the common travel area residence status from Irish nationals whose legal basis for residence is held to be that of European Economic Area law.
§ Mr. Charles WardleNone.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people will know if their names have been placed on the persona non grata list envisaged in the draft regulation on a common visa list; whether all countries will have common criteria for placing people on this list; whether these criteria will be made public; and in what circumstances names will be removed from the list.
§ Mr. Charles WardleA joint list of persons to be refused entry to member states of the European Union is provided for in article 10 of the draft external frontiers convention. Article 10.3 sets out the criteria for the inclusion of persons on the list. There has not yet been any agreement on the detailed rules for the application of these criteria, which remain a matter for discussion between member states. It may not be either practicable or in certain cases desirable to introduce an obligation to inform a person of his inclusion on the list. The text of the detailed rules referred to above is likely to fall within the criteria for deposit in both Houses in accordance with the scrutiny arrangements for title VI matters. It will be for individual member states to remove from the list names which they themselves have included, as circumstances change.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he had with the Irish authorities about the proposal that Irish citizens with non-European Economic Area spouses will need to apply for residence permits in order that their spouses may benefit from EEA rights.
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§ Mr. Charles WardleThe Irish authorities have been kept closely informed of the provisions of the draft Immigration (European Economic Area) Order 1994 under which the non-EEA dependants of Irish nationals will benefit from EC rights of residence in the same way as the non-EEA dependants of other EEA nationals.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it will be his practice that non-European Economic Area national children and young people who are granted EEA family permits will continue to be entitled to them after they pass the age of 21 years, or cease to be dependent, and that they will be granted settlement along with the EEA family member on whom their rights depend.
§ Mr. Charles WardleUnder the provisions of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Order 1994, non-EEA dependent children of EEA nationals who are exercising rights of residence in the United Kingdom may reside here on the same basis, irrespective of age. However, those children of EEA nationals who pass the age of 21 and cease to be dependent will need to qualify on their own account if they wish to remain in the United Kingdom, unless they have already been granted settlement in line with the EEA national on whom they were at the time dependent.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many migrant citizens of the European Union or persons purporting to be such there are in each of the past five years whose identify card or passport has been investigated either on the instigation of the immigration service or on the instigation of officials of his Department in order to establish the validity or genuineness of the document; in how many cases such documents were considered to be genuine and applying to the applicant; in how many cases it was concluded that this was not the case; if he will break down the figure by nationality; and in cases where the document was rejected, what right of appeal was offered to the applicant.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThis information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the number of falsified, counterfeit or fraudulently obtained EC documents and those used by impostors detected at United Kingdom ports and airports of entry in each of the last three years. The nationality shown is that which the holder of the document purported to be.
1991 1992 1993 Belgium 54 28 45 Denmark 1 2 4 France 308 386 485 Germany 8 3 38 Greece 53 31 31 Ireland 2 1 Nil Italy 39 37 168 Luxembourg Nil Nil Nil Netherlands 93 79 193 Portugal 190 96 143 Spain 16 13 12 United Kingdom 337 310 462 Total 1,101 986 1,581 The same rights of appeal are available to a person in possession of a forged or falsified passport who is refused leave to enter the United Kingdom or removed as an illegal entrant as to those refused leave or removed in other circumstances.