To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long biometric information collected from a recipient of a biometric visa may be retained once the individual is no longer resident in the UK. (241537)

The Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) Regulations 2006 allow biometric data collected as part of the visa application process to be retained for a maximum period of 10 years. However, there are circumstances when this period may be less. These are if a person becomes a British Citizen or a Commonwealth Citizen who has a right of abode in the UK as a result of section 2(1)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971.