Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 22 October 2009.

Visas: Dependent Relatives

Question: My Lords, I refer the Minister to a Question that I asked on 25 June 2007. I shall not read it because it is too long but I asked about a Latin American person who, at that time, had lived in this country for 27 years invisibly because her passport had been stolen and so on. The reply given to me by the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, was that she should, ""apply to the Home Office Border and Immigration Agency to regularise her position and apply for indefinite leave to remain; that is, to settle in the United Kingdom".—[Official Report, 25/6/07; col. 410.]" Does the Minister realise how extremely difficult that is? I saw her recently and for the past two years she has been trying to apply. She has been told to produce details of the school that she went to but it has closed and the company that she worked for originally went broke. She lost her passport and reported that to the police, so she could not leave the country. Again, no records were kept. What is the answer to those who are in a difficult and invisible position for a long time?

Answer: My Lords, it is very difficult for me to give an answer on a specific case. It sounds very bad. We are now a lot harder and more careful about people coming into the country. I came into this arena late—two and a half years ago—but for many years, through successive Administrations, I do not believe that we were tight enough on our border controls. In the past two and a half years, that has changed dramatically; for example, net migration dropped by 44 per cent between 2007 and 2008. These measures are beginning to have a real impact, which is crucial. Immigrants have given a huge amount to our country, but we have to control the situation and we are beginning to do that.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 713 c809
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Related items: Immigration
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Dependants Families Migrants Entry clearances Visas Latin America
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk