I very much thank all noble Lords for participating in this debate. In particular, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, for their amendments.
Before I start, the noble Lord, Lord Alton, alluded to the fact that I have some experience in Hong Kong. I must declare an interest: I have marched to that pipe band. In fact, my noble friend Lord Patten was briefly my boss, which he probably did not know and probably horrifies him. I have worked closely with the Hong Kong Military Service Corps, as both the noble and
gallant Lord, Lord Craig, and the noble Lord, Lord Alton, know. I hold those men—they were all men—in extremely high regard. I come at this speech with that in mind and wish to put it on the record.
The Government highly value the service of all members of the Armed Forces, including Commonwealth nationals and Gurkhas from Nepal. They have a long and distinguished history of service to the UK both here and overseas. We also remain extremely grateful for the contribution made by former British Hong Kong service personnel, which is why the Government announced on 7 December last year that the Home Secretary has identified an option that will enable our Government to treat this group of personnel in a similar way to other non-UK service personnel who were based in Hong Kong before handover. It was announced by Kevin Foster, the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration in the House of Commons.
I appreciate that, in tabling Amendment 185, the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, wants reassurance that the Government are taking concrete steps to further support British Hong Kong veterans where possible. I can confirm that the Government will update Parliament as soon as we have more details that can be shared, with the aim of implementing any changes by the end of this calendar year. I am probably going too far here but that is not an “in due course”, in response to a comment made in an earlier debate; it is a concrete commitment to making the relevant announcement soon. However, once again, I agree with the noble and gallant Lord that they are loyal veterans; I also commend him on his long work on this particular subject. That is all I can say for now.
Before I address the detail of Amendment 178, I want to say a few words about the process for setting administration fees. For a number of years, application fees for immigration and nationality applications have been charged under powers set out under Section 68 of the Immigration Act 2014. They play a vital role in our country’s ability to run a sustainable migration and borders system, reducing the burden on taxpayers. Sitting beneath the Immigration Act is an affirmative procedure fees order, which is scrutinised by both Houses before coming into effect, and beneath that are negative resolution fees regulations, which are laid before both Houses prior to coming into force. In addition, all fees are set with the consent of HM Treasury. This system ensures that there are checks and balances within the system, and maintains the coherence of the immigration fees framework as it is set out in legislation. I will come back to this subject in a moment.
When non-UK service personnel, including Commonwealth citizens and Gurkhas from Nepal, enlist in the regular Armed Forces, they are granted “exempt from immigration control” status for the duration of their service to allow them to come and go without restriction. They are therefore free from any requirements to make visa applications or pay fees while they serve, unlike almost every other category of migrant coming to work in the UK.
Those who have served at least four years or been medically discharged as a result of their service can choose to settle in the UK after their service and pay the relevant fee. The time before discharge that such
settlement applications may be submitted was extended this year from 10 to 18 weeks, providing ample time to plan and make the application. Those applying for themselves do not have to meet an income requirement, be sponsored by an employer or meet any requirements regarding skills, knowledge of the English language or knowledge of life in the UK, again putting them in a favourable position compared to other migrants wishing to settle here. I stress that this a personal choice. We should bear in mind that not all countries allow dual citizenship. Indeed, not all Commonwealth citizens who are members of our Armed Forces choose to take up this option.
Of course, we recognise that settlement fees may place a financial burden on non-UK serving personnel wishing to remain in the UK after their discharge and the strength of feeling from parliamentarians, service charities and the public about this issue is very strong. That is why the Ministry of Defence, together with the Home Office, ran a public consultation between 26 May and 7 July 2021 on a policy proposal to waive settlement fees for non-UK service personnel in HM Armed Forces. The results of the consultation have been analysed and, once collective agreement has been secured for a final policy, the Government will publish their response and make any associated changes to fees through fees regulations at the earliest opportunity. I know those are warm words, but I am also aware of the strength of feeling in this House and the other place, so noble Lords should draw the appropriate conclusion as to what “earliest opportunity” means in practice. We are also exploring what options there are to assist non-UK veterans of HM Armed Forces who do not have settled status in the UK.
In conclusion, I understand the strength of feeling expressed in the House in relation to this issue and I emphasise again my gratitude to all individuals who have served this country. However, as I have explained, there is an existing legal framework in place for immigration fees which already enables proper consideration to be given by government and Parliament to the full range of issues in setting those fees. The issue raised by this amendment is already subject to a review, which is entering its final stages.
To answer the question from the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, about how much it would cost, the best we can do is about £210,000 a year. There are other issues to be considered as well, which centre on things such as recruitment and retention. Those are part of the reason why the consultation has not yet been completely closed off. To give some more detail about the consultation, 6,398 responses were received and the results have been used to advise Ministers. I think I have covered everything, so I hope that, following those assurances, which are as warm as they can be, noble Lords will agree to withdraw or not move their amendments.