Read on Twitter
Home Office "transparency data", the latest batch of which was published today, offers a window into the UK immigration system. 6 interesting nuggets from today's new figures (thread):
1. Ever wondered what the pass rate is for the Life in the UK test? One in five British citizenship applicants fail. Some nationalities will be far more likely to fail than others, leaving them shut out of citizenship.
2. The number of Immigration Enforcement staff has fallen 10% in recent years. This is an organisation that, as the immigration inspector has found, is increasingly unsure of what it's supposed to be doing post-Windrush. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/immigration-inspector-illegal-working/
3. The number of civil servants working at UK Visas & Immigration has increased massively since the Brexit vote. Four years ago, there were 6,300. There are now 9,400 - an increase of 47%. Still: at least these are British rather than Brussels bureaucrats.
4. Employers also need to prepare for Brexit, but don't seem to be. The number of organisations with a licence to sponsor overseas workers, which from January will include EU citizens, has hardly budged. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/no-big-increase-in-businesses-getting-sponsor-licences/
5. Coronavirus impact: immigration judges granted a record number of people bail in Q2 2020 (ie April, May and June). The Home Office can release people from immigration detention itself, but didn't.
6. The pandemic didn't stop the Home Office deporting people either. In Q2 2020, there were 292 "attempted Charter and Overseas Returns". https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-august-2020
