§ Mr. William Wilsonasked the Lord Privy Seal how many applications for visas to travel to the United Kingdom are awaiting processing in the United Kingdom Embassy in Tehran.
§ Mr. William Wilsonasked the Lord Privy Seal what is the waiting period between a visa being applied for in Tehran and being processed by the embassy staff.
§ Mr. HurdA completed visa application is processed on the same day that it is received.
Some 15,000 people, mainly private visitors, are awaiting interview. The embassy can interview about 100 applicants each day and appointments are now being given for May 1981. This is a substantial delay. But in present circumstances for obvious reasons we do not propose to increase the number fo visa officers at Her Majesty's Embassy in Tehran.
A small proportion of applications, of an urgent or compassionate nature, can be handled more quickly. These include Iranian spouses of United Kingdom citizens normally resident here; business visitors with close connections with British firms; persons requiring urgent private medical treatment not available in Iran; students returning to their studies and other returning residents.