§ Mr. BrazierTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many in-country work permits were granted in each of the last six months for which figures are available; how many of these were allocated each month to(a) students and (b) people who had recently completed educational courses in the UK; how many were allocated each month to visa nationals; and how many were granted exceptionally to visa nationals. [116057]
672W
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 3 June 2003]Work permits are applied for by, and issued to, employers, not individuals. Work permit approvals issued in the last two quarters to employers in respect of visa nationals who were already present in the United Kingdom are as follows:
In-country work permits issued Number October 2002 4,050 November 2002 3,575 December 2002 3,086 January 2003 4,163 February 2003 3,516 March 2003 4,140 Work Permits (UK) are unable to provide statistics which would indicate how many of these permits were issued in respect of overseas nationals who were previously present in the United Kingdom for the purposes of study; or for a purpose for which there is no provision under the Immigration Rules to switch into work permit employment and where, consequently, any decision to allow switching to take place would be considered on a discretionary basis outside the Rules.