§ 32. Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how often the recommendation of the British High Commission in India not to grant entry visas has been overridden, following a ministerial intervention, since 1 January 1997. [141993]
§ Mr. VazInformation on these decisions was not kept centrally until October 1999. Since then I have overturned 19 decisions to refuse entry visa at our posts in India following representations made by hon. and right hon. Members who regarded these cases as exceptional. During this period over 184,000 visa applications were made in these posts, of which approximately 20,000 were refused and 200,995 visas were issued.