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Written question asked by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 December 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 December 2016. It was answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 December 2016 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Students: Finance

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how long, on average, students wait for a decision on funding if they require the Home Office to confirm to Student Finance England that their immigration status makes them eligible to apply for that funding.

Answer

The Home Office works to an agreement to confirm decisions on eligibility for student funding within 10 working days. Regulatory changes that created a new long residency category of customers made earlier in 2016 have resulted in an increase in numbers of customers being referred for checks with the Home Office. This has led to an increase in processing times for such checks. Extra resource has now been provided to increase the volume completed by 25% per day.

It is the responsibility of individual students to provide the necessary evidence in support of their application. My officials are working with the Home Office to explore what additional support or alternative solutions can be provided to increase the speed of immigration status checks.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
57421
Session
2016-17
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Applications Finance Immigration Students
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk