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Written question asked by Lord Cryer (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 May 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 May 2023. It was answered by Robert Jenrick (Conservative) on Friday, 19 May 2023 on behalf of the Home Office.

UK Visas and Immigration: Correspondence

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the UK Visas and Immigration MPs' Enquiry Service requires letters of authority from visa applicants whose sponsor has contacted their MP about the progress of their application.

Answer

The Data Protection Act 2018 requires large organisations such as the Home Office to ensure that we protect the individual rights and freedoms of the individuals (data subjects) whose information we process. We are not able to provide personal information as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018 to third parties, including sponsors with the explicit consent of the applicant. We therefore ask that sponsors provide letters of authority showing they have the applicant’s consent before providing personal information.

Article 4 (11) of the GDPR defines consent and further conditions for consent are listed in Article 7.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
184261
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Correspondence Members UK Visas and Immigration
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk