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ECAA Turkish Businessperson COVID19 Policies

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Dear Home Office,

1. On 3 November 2020 to written parliamentary question (110767): “The Government remains committed to ensuring people are not unfairly impacted in terms of their immigration status as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic…[a]ll applications, provided they were submitted before 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020, will be decided in accordance with the existing rules and guidance.”

2. MP Barbara Keeley has actively championed the rights of Turkish Businesspersons affected by COVID19 and tabled a number of questions on behalf of her constituents. One of them, tabled on 14 July 2020 (73764), and answered on 20 July 2020 (by MP Kevin Forrester) and Email to Sir Keir Starmer sent to from the UKVI confirm and reiterate “[t]he Government is committed to ensuring that people are not unfairly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a result of their immigration status and that ECAA Applicants who are outside the UK will need to simply apply for entry clearance as an ECAA business person without any additional hurdles

3. What measures, policy, discussions or any other information subject to the FOIA is available that would shed light on any measures that the UK Home Office has put in place for those ECAA Turkish Businesspersons who already hold ECAA visas who have been unable to travel to the visa. In particular, the policy should clarify whether such persons who have been unable to travel to the UK are entitled to a new 3 month entry clearance vignette with a new 1 year entry clearance or whether the existing policy is to only issue the remaining period on the initial entry clearance in situations where applicants have been unable to travel to the UK due to the COVID19 situation despite having a valid ECAA entry clearance visa. Any citations or response should could a link to the source.

4. Why have the previous ECAA Turkish Businessperson Guidance that was available on the Home Office website been removed?

5. In light of question 4 above, do/did all Entry Clearance Officers (in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Amman Jordan, Sheffield) have access to ECAA Entry Clearance guidance in assessing entry clearance applications under the ECAA?

6. Ordinarily all ECAA applications were decided by Sheffield. What was the policy measures, reasons or purposes, that precipitated the outsourcing of the decision making relating to ECAA applications to Visa decision centres in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Amman, Jordan, and Istanbul, Turkey.

7. What training, if any, did such ECO managers/persons in visa decision making centres other than Sheffield have in assessing ECAA applications. This can be a quality review process by a person in Sheffield or another person familiar with and/or having experience with actioning ECAA applications. If no responsive data exists, then please state so.

Yours faithfully,

aaron b

FOI Requests, Home Office

Thank you for contacting the Home Office  Freedom of Information Requests
Mailbox.

This is to acknowledge  receipt of your email.

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FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Please see attached in response to your requests for information.

Regards,

P. Zebedee
Home Office
Lower Ground Floor | Seacole | 2 Marsham Street | London SW1P 4DF
www.gov.uk/home-office

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Dear Home Office,

1. On 3 November 2020 to written parliamentary question (110767): “The Government remains committed to ensuring people are not unfairly impacted in terms of their immigration status as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic…[a]ll applications, provided they were submitted before 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020, will be decided in accordance with the existing rules and guidance.”

2. MP Barbara Keeley has actively championed the rights of Turkish Businesspersons affected by COVID19 and tabled a number of questions on behalf of her constituents. One of them, tabled on 14 July 2020 (73764), and answered on 20 July 2020 (by MP Kevin Forrester) and Email to Sir Keir Starmer sent to from the UKVI confirm and reiterate “[t]he Government is committed to ensuring that people are not unfairly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a result of their immigration status and that ECAA Applicants who are outside the UK will need to simply apply for entry clearance as an ECAA business person without any additional hurdles

3. What measures, policy, discussions or any other information subject to the FOIA is available that would shed light on any measures that the UK Home Office has put in place for those ECAA Turkish Businesspersons who already hold ECAA visas who have been unable to travel to the visa. In particular, the policy should clarify whether such persons who have been unable to travel to the UK are entitled to a new 3 month entry clearance vignette with a new 1 year entry clearance or whether the existing policy is to only issue the remaining period on the initial entry clearance in situations where applicants have been unable to travel to the UK due to the COVID19 situation despite having a valid ECAA entry clearance visa. Any citations or response should could a link to the source.

4. Why have the previous ECAA Turkish Businessperson Guidance that was available on the Home Office website been removed?

5. In light of question 4 above, do/did all Entry Clearance Officers (in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Amman Jordan, Sheffield) have access to ECAA Entry Clearance guidance in assessing entry clearance applications under the ECAA?

6. Ordinarily all ECAA applications were decided by Sheffield. What was the policy measures, reasons or purposes, that precipitated the outsourcing of the decision making relating to ECAA applications to Visa decision centres in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Amman, Jordan, and Istanbul, Turkey.

7. What training, if any, did such ECO managers/persons in visa decision making centres other than Sheffield have in assessing ECAA applications. This can be a quality review process by a person in Sheffield or another person familiar with and/or having experience with actioning ECAA applications. If no responsive data exists, then please state so.

Yours faithfully,

Aaron Behar
Name: 61A Bridge St., Kington, HR5 3DJ

FOI Requests, Home Office

Thank you for contacting the Home Office  Freedom of Information Requests
Mailbox.

This is to acknowledge  receipt of your email.

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FOI Requests, Home Office

Dear Aaron Behar,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request.

This has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 65470). We will aim to send you a full response by 06/09/2021 which is twenty working days from the date we received your request.

Regards

N McKenzie
Home Office

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FOI Responses, Home Office

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Behar

 

 

Please find enclosed response to your Freedom of Information Request.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Migration and Borders Correspondence Team

 

 

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are aaron b please sign in and let everyone know.