James Heappey corrected a written answer on Afghanistan: Resettlement

5 December 2022 · Commons written answer · Ministry of Defence

Dan Jarvis (Labour, Barnsley Central) asked written question 80716 on 7 November 2022. James Heappey answered on 21 November 2022 for the Ministry of Defence, and James Heappey corrected the answer on 5 December 2022. The correction replaced 1 figure (107) with 2 figures (167, 702). Altogether 4 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) applications for additional family members under the Afghan relocation and assistance policy (ARAP) and ex-gratia scheme (EGS), which Department makes the decision on whether to grant LOTR applications under the EGS scheme; how many such applications have been received in total under both schemes; and how many such applications under both schemes (a) have received a positive decision, (b) have received a negative decision and (c) were still pending on 7 November 2022.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
When a principal applicant submits a Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) application for additional family members, it is initially received by the Ministry of Defence. A decision on whether this application meets the eligibility requirements of the EGS/ARAP additional family member policy is made by the Ministry of Defence or referred to the relevant sponsoring Government department (dependent upon the role performed by the principal applicant with EGS/ARAP eligibility) to make that decision. Those found to meet the eligibility requirements are then referred to the Home Office by the Ministry of Defence, who will perform additional checks (such as biometric enrolment and security) in order to make the final decision on the grant of LOTR. Since August 2021, a total of 1,103 applications for additional family members have been received by the Ministry of Defence. Of the above, decisions have been made in 401 cases across HM Government. i) ~~107~~ applications have ben found to be eligible, in whole or in part, and referred to the Home Office for grant of LOTR. ii) 234 applications have been found to be ineligible by Defence and the Foreign Office. iii) 70 applications are awaiting an eligibility decision with Defence and other Government departments. These are at various stages of the decision-making process and are being worked through on a case by case basis, by the relevant Government department, as quickly as practicable. All casework decisions are taken against a clear framework of eligibility criteria. Timelines regarding LOTR eligibility decisions can vary considerably, dependent upon the complexity of the case, the need to conduct checks with other Government departments, or the length of time it takes for applicants to respond to follow-up queries.	When a principal applicant submits a Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) application for additional family members, it is initially received by the Ministry of Defence. A decision on whether this application meets the eligibility requirements of the EGS/ARAP additional family member policy is made by the Ministry of Defence or referred to the relevant sponsoring Government department (dependent upon the role performed by the principal applicant with EGS/ARAP eligibility) to make that decision. Those found to meet the eligibility requirements are then referred to the Home Office by the Ministry of Defence, who will perform additional checks (such as biometric enrolment and security) in order to make the final decision on the grant of LOTR. Since August 2021, a total of 1,103 applications for additional family members have been received by the Ministry of Defence. Of the above, decisions have been made in 401 cases across HM Government. i) 167 applications have ben found to be eligible, in whole or in part, and referred to the Home Office for grant of LOTR. ii) 234 applications have been found to be ineligible by Defence and the Foreign Office. iii) 702 applications are awaiting an eligibility decision with Defence and other Government departments. These are at various stages of the decision-making process and are being worked through on a case by case basis, by the relevant Government department, as quickly as practicable. All casework decisions are taken against a clear framework of eligibility criteria. Timelines regarding LOTR eligibility decisions can vary considerably, dependent upon the complexity of the case, the need to conduct checks with other Government departments, or the length of time it takes for applicants to respond to follow-up queries.

Original

Corrected

When a principal applicant submits a Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) application for additional family members, it is initially received by the Ministry of Defence. A decision on whether this application meets the eligibility requirements of the EGS/ARAP additional family member policy is made by the Ministry of Defence or referred to the relevant sponsoring Government department (dependent upon the role performed by the principal applicant with EGS/ARAP eligibility) to make that decision.
Those found to meet the eligibility requirements are then referred to the Home Office by the Ministry of Defence, who will perform additional checks (such as biometric enrolment and security) in order to make the final decision on the grant of LOTR.
Since August 2021, a total of 1,103 applications for additional family members have been received by the Ministry of Defence.
Of the above, decisions have been made in 401 cases across HM Government.
i) ~~107~~ applications have ben found to be eligible, in whole or in part, and referred to the Home Office for grant of LOTR.
ii) 234 applications have been found to be ineligible by Defence and the Foreign Office.
iii) 70 applications are awaiting an eligibility decision with Defence and other Government departments. These are at various stages of the decision-making process and are being worked through on a case by case basis, by the relevant Government department, as quickly as practicable.
All casework decisions are taken against a clear framework of eligibility criteria. Timelines regarding LOTR eligibility decisions can vary considerably, dependent upon the complexity of the case, the need to conduct checks with other Government departments, or the length of time it takes for applicants to respond to follow-up queries.

When a principal applicant submits a Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) application for additional family members, it is initially received by the Ministry of Defence. A decision on whether this application meets the eligibility requirements of the EGS/ARAP additional family member policy is made by the Ministry of Defence or referred to the relevant sponsoring Government department (dependent upon the role performed by the principal applicant with EGS/ARAP eligibility) to make that decision.
Those found to meet the eligibility requirements are then referred to the Home Office by the Ministry of Defence, who will perform additional checks (such as biometric enrolment and security) in order to make the final decision on the grant of LOTR.
Since August 2021, a total of 1,103 applications for additional family members have been received by the Ministry of Defence.
Of the above, decisions have been made in 401 cases across HM Government.
i) 167 applications have ben found to be eligible, in whole or in part, and referred to the Home Office for grant of LOTR.
ii) 234 applications have been found to be ineligible by Defence and the Foreign Office.
iii) 702 applications are awaiting an eligibility decision with Defence and other Government departments. These are at various stages of the decision-making process and are being worked through on a case by case basis, by the relevant Government department, as quickly as practicable.
All casework decisions are taken against a clear framework of eligibility criteria. Timelines regarding LOTR eligibility decisions can vary considerably, dependent upon the complexity of the case, the need to conduct checks with other Government departments, or the length of time it takes for applicants to respond to follow-up queries.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1540124?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
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