§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on proposals for the establishment of new visa centres in the Indian subcontinent. [142857]
§ Mr. VazThe new offices will be in Jallandhar and Ahmedabad in India; Sylhet in Bangladesh; and Lahore in Pakistan. We continue to discuss with the Governments of the countries the details of the proposed operations. We need their agreement before we can proceed any further.
The new offices should save visa applicants unnecessary travel and expense. They will:
offer advice on entry clearance requirements and proceduresgive out visa application forms and information leafletsaccept, check and forward visa applications to the relevant High Commission or Deputy High Commissionreturn passports to applicants once the application has been consideredprovide office and interviewing facilities for visiting entry clearance officers.As soon as we have the agreement of the Governments of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, we will establish the offices as quickly as possible.