Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Deferred
Paragraph: 87
Upfront immigration health surcharge unaffordable for some Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders.
Conclusion
We accept the principle that individuals who benefit from immigration should contribute towards the costs of essential UK services and we also welcome the fact that, when designing this visa route, the Government set out to increase its accessibility by setting a low fee for the applicant. However we are concerned that the upfront nature and scale of the immigration health surcharge will not be affordable for some BN(O) visa holders and particularly for young people. The Home Secretary has described the route as a proportionate response to a specific situation: we therefore recommend that, as a proportionate further step, the Government introduce either a means-tested fee waiver for Hong Kongers to whom the cost is a significant barrier to protection or flexibilities around delayed or reduced payment where appropriate.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government did not address the recommendation for a means-tested fee waiver or payment flexibilities for the immigration health surcharge, instead stating caseworkers receive training and will get regular updates on the situation in Hong Kong.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
87
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
16. As you have mentioned in the report, the Home Office sets visa, immigration and citizenship fees at a level which helps provide resources necessary to operate the Border, Immigration and Citizenship System and reduce reliance on taxpayer funding. 17. To ensure there were limited barriers to those wishing to come to the UK via the BN(O) route, the Home Office intentionally set the application fees lower than many other routes to the UK. In setting the fee, we looked at analogous routes, as well as a number of factors set by Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014. These include the cost of processing the application, the wider cost of running the migration, borders and citizenship system and the benefits that are likely to accrue from a successful application. 18. In addition, those applying for the BN(O) route can choose to apply for two grants of 30 months’ leave rather than the full five years, allowing applicants to split the cost of their application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge. There are currently no plans to introduce a fee waiver or immigration health surcharge waiver on the BN(O) route; however, all fees are kept under review.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗