Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the easing of visa restrictions between the United Kingdom and the states of eastern and central Europe.
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§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe have received many such representations from hon. Members and members of the public. I am glad to say that visa abolition agreements have been concluded with Czechoslovakia and Hungary, and took effect on 1 October 1990. We are keeping the situation regarding the other countries of eastern and central Europe under review. There are no plans at present for further visa abolition agreements, but where possible requirements have been eased, for example by extending the validity of multiple entry visas.
§ Mr. Andrew MacKayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in improving the service provided to visa applicants by the British Embassy in Warsaw.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe visa section in Warsaw has now succeeded in clearing the backlog that arose from the surge in applications this summer (about 30 per cent. higher than last year). Applicants are normally seen on their day of arrival and, provided they meet the requirements of the immigration rules, receive their visas that day.
Procedures have been streamlined. Greater authority has been delegated to issue visas without reference to London. The period within which single entry visas may be used has been extended from three to six months. Multiple entry visas have been extended in validity from six months to two years, and are now available to businessmen and other travellers with a genuine need to visit the United Kingdom frequently.
The Polish authorities have been asked to help in an urgent search for more adequate premises. Meanwhile plans are under way to install a temporary waiting room and expand interview facilities to improve comfort and speed processing of applicants. This will also enable us to reinforce the visa section further.
§ Mr. MoateTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the length of time taken to process a visa application for entry into the United Kingdom for short-term visits from(a) Hungary, (b) Romania, (c) Poland and (d) Czechoslavakia; if he has any proposals to improve this performance; and what are the comparable times for the processing of visa applications from these countries to other members of the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydSince 1 October 1990, Czechoslovak and Hungarian nationals visiting the United Kingdom no longer require visas. There are intergovernmental arrangements with Poland and Romania laying down target processing times for visas. For short visits the timescales are 14 working days for Poland (seven working days for officially sponsored applicants) and seven working days for Romania. We normally meet those targets. The great majority of applicants at both embassies now receive their visas within 24 hours and many on the day of application. We have sent additional staff to Warsaw and Bucharest and introduced new procedures to streamline visa issuing. Comparable times (where available) for processing applications from Polish and Romanian nationals visiting other European Community countries are: Belgium one to two weeks; Denmark 15 days; France 21 days (but 24 hours for Poles under 25 years); Germany 24 hours; Greece one week; Italy 15–30 days; Netherlands about five days to one month; Spain two weeks.