§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria for granting entry visas to those from former Yugoslavia; and what criteria he has agreed with the International Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for selecting those suitable for entry.
§ Mr. Charles WardleVisas will be granted to those nationals of the former Yugoslavia requiring visas where they meet the requirement of the immigration rules. Visas will also be granted where the applicant meets the definition of a refugee under the terms of the 1951 convention or has been displaced from his home by the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and, because of close links with the United Kingdom, including close family ties, the United Kingdom is the most appropriate country of refuge for that person. In addition, visas will be granted to those people and their dependants whom the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross judge to be in need of evacuation, and whom the United Kingdom has agreed to receive. We understand that initially the international organisations would wish to evacuate detainees from the existing detention camps in Bosnia.