HC Deb 11 February 1946 vol 419 cc24-5W
Mr. Teeling

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the Home Office officials in Paris, employed to issue visas for entering Great Britain, have refused to accept guidance from the British Embassy or Consulate in Paris about which French citizens should be granted visas, even when they satisfy all Home Office requirements; whether he will take action in the matter in view of the fact that complaints are frequent about the impoliteness and unnecessary delays at the visa offices; that the French men concerned are unaware that this office does not come under the British Embassy; and in what friendly countries before this war the Home Office were responsible for issuing visas to enter this country.

Mr. McNeil

The officials referred to in. Paris and elsewhere are officials of the Foreign Office forming part of the staffs of British Missions abroad. This was also the case before the war. The regulations, however, for entry into the United Kingdom are laid down by the Home Office.