Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of visa applicants to each visa application centre were fingerprinted before they travelled to the UK in each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire

All visa applicants are required to provide biometric information, including fingerprints, as part of the visa application process.

Exceptions to this requirement are limited to individuals defined as exempt from immigration control; members of diplomatic missions based overseas travelling to the UK on an official visit; children under the age of five; and those who are physically unable to provide fingerprints (e.g. those who do not have fingers).

The Home Office is unable to provide the specific information in the format requested without incurring disproportionate cost.