§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many failed asylum seekers from(a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq, (c) Iran and (d) Pakistan have subsequently been granted early clearance to the United Kingdom on a visitor's visa in each of the last three years. [112212]
§ Mr. RammellWe do not retain statistics of the number of successful visitor visa applicants who have previously been refused asylum in the UK. To obtain this information, visa sections worldwide would need to compare the names of successful visa applicants with those whose claims for asylum had previously been refused: this would incur disproportionate cost.
Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) overseas consider each application on its own merits against the relevant requirements of the Immigration Rules. An application from someone who had previously been refused asylum would not, therefore, necessarily fall for refusal, although an ECO would take this into account when making a decision.