The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered making representations at international level for a system of humanitarian visas in the light of the current migrant crisis.

Lord Bates

There is no provision in our Immigration Rules for someone to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum or humanitarian protection and Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to make representations at international level for a system of humanitarian visas.

Instead, we are focusing our efforts on resettling vulnerable people in need of international protection from the region, including 20,000 Syrians by the end of the Parliament. This provides refugees with a direct and safe route to the UK and uses established UNHCR processes. This is in addition to the £1.12 billion in humanitarian aid provided by the UK for those most in need in the region – more than any other country in the world except the United States.