It is government policy not to allow the formation of polygamous households in the UK. Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1988 and the Immigration Rules prevent a UK resident from sponsoring a second or subsequent non-European Economic Area national spouse to come or remain here, if another person has already been admitted as his or her spouse and the marriage has not been dissolved.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases. This is because the Home Office has obligations in law to protect this information. The UK does not require Israeli citizens to hold a visa to visit the UK. Nevertheless, the Home Secretary can, in individual cases, decide whether a person should be excluded from the UK regardless of whether they require a visa to come to the UK or not. The UK sets its visa regimes in light of immigration, crime and security risks, amongst other factors, and keeps these regimes under regular review. The UK has no ‘visa waiver agreement’ with Israel.

In the same way as any other person admitted or granted entry to the UK, an Israeli citizen is expected to comply with the conditions of their stay in the UK and to abide by UK laws. Furthermore, watch list checks at the UK border identify persons who present a potential threat to the UK. The UK has no ‘visa waiver agreement’ with Israel.

The UK sets its visa regimes in light of immigration, crime and security risks, amongst other factors, and keeps these regimes under regular review. These risks and other factors vary between countries who set visa regimes, so it is quite natural that the United States and the UK will have different visa requirements for the same set of foreign nationals. The UK has no ‘visa waiver agreement’ with Israel.

The total number of applications submitted in India that were issued in 2013 was 323,575.

The number of applications for UK Visas in India since 2009 can be found in the following table.

UK Visa application in India since 2009

The licence with secure English language testing providers is clear that providers must put measures in place to combat abuse and any concerns regarding fraud or abuse should be reported to the Home Office.

Over the lifetime of the licence, the Home Office has introduced a range of improvements including a more secure online verification system; extra identity and security checks on candidates; and further measures to ensure the test
centres are secure. In addition this Government introduced a requirement that a visa officer must be satisfied that an applicant is a genuine student, tested at interview, helping to prevent abuse of the student visa system.

The Home Office will not hesitate to take action where abuse is identified.

The Home Office works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and other government departments to identify individuals whose presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good, including on the basis of human rights abuses. Details of individuals who are banned from entering the UK are included on the UK watch list which means that Entry Clearance Officers and Border Force officials are able to refuse visas or deny entry. It is Government policy not to discuss specific information held on watch lists as to do so would not be in the interests of border and national security.

The FCO cooperates with the Home Office on the availability of independent, reliable and credible evidence that an individual has committed human rights abuses. Where our Posts abroad have identified individuals that should be refused entry to the UK on the basis of human rights abuses they will refer such cases to the Home Office for consideration.

This Government has overhauled Tier 4 of the Points-Based System with a package of measures to tackle the widespread abuse that was occurring when we inherited it in May 2010, while still attracting genuine students.

We have cracked down on bogus colleges by making the Tier 4 sponsorship system more rigorous, and this has led to the removal of nearly 800 colleges from the Tier 4 sponsor register since 2011. In order to recruit international
students, education institutions must demonstrate education quality, by undergoing an assessment of their education standards by an independent inspectorate, and a good track record of immigration compliance. Sponsors must
make basic checks on students to ensure that they are genuine students. We have incentivised them to do this by reducing to 10% the permitted visa refusal rate from 1 November 2014. If more than 1 in 10 of a sponsor’s prospective
students are refused a visa, they will lose their Tier 4 licence.

We have made it more difficult for non-genuine students to abuse the system. They must demonstrate that they are a genuine student in a credibility interview, meet tougher English language and maintenance requirements and have
a proven academic track record. We have introduced a maximum time limit on the period of study in the UK and if a student wants to undertake further study, they must show that this is academic progress. We have also restricted the
right to work while studying for students at universities and publicly funded further education colleges, and removed them altogether for students at private colleges, where abuse was greatest.

We have ensured that the UK’s university sector remains attractive to international students - they can use their own method to determine their student’s English language proficiency, their students can work whilst studying
here, postgraduates can bring dependants and graduates can stay on and work if they can secure a graduate level job. We have doubled the number of places on the Graduate Entrepreneur scheme to 2,000, and created a new visa for graduates wishing to undertake a corporate internship, or professional training related to their degree. We also allow all students who have completed a PhD to stay in the UK for an additional year to work, gain experience in their chosen field, or set up as an entrepreneur.

The latest statistics show that this approach is working – applications for study visas for university students have increased by 2% in the year ending September 2014, with a 4% increase for those with an offer from a Russell Group
university. Whilst applications for study visas for further education – where the abuse was greatest – have fallen by 13% over the same period.

There are three routes of entry to the UK for religious workers and ministers of religion. Those coming for longer term roles under Tier 2 of the Points Based System are required to demonstrate that that are proficient in English at level B2 (upper intermediate level) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

No assessment of English language is required for religious workers coming to fill temporary positions under Tier 5 of the Points Based System. Similarly those entering at short term visitors are not required to demonstrate proficiency in English language. We are actively reviewing the Immigration Rules for religious routes of entry including English language requirements.

This Government is committed to preventing the entry into the UK of individuals whose behaviours and views are not conducive to shared values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Since May 2010, the Home Secretary has excluded 84 preachers of hate. The Home Secretary uses these powers when justified and based on all available evidence. Where appropriate, this may include public statements and written material.

Since March 2008, all Entry Clearance applications made in Nepal have been considered by UK Entry Clearance Officers based at the visa section in New Delhi. This includes applications to study in the UK. Entry Clearance Officers consider student applications in accordance with the Immigration Rules. These rules do not include any consideration of whether Nepal needs students with the degrees that the students wish to pursue.

The Home Secretary made a statement on the electronic visa waiver scheme on 9 December 2013 (HC Deb, 9 December 2013, c4WS).

Further information on the extension of that scheme to Kuwait is unable to be disclosed as it relates to matters of international relations and national security.

The information available relates to International Graduates Scheme visa extensions granted in the UK, 2008 to 2013. The data is given in the table below:

The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on extensions of stay granted in the UK by category in table ex_01_q (Extensions) within the ‘Immigration Statistics’ release.A copy of the latest release, ‘Immigration Statistics April - June 2014’ is
available from the Library of the House and from https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release