§ Mr. AllasonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to speed up the processing of visa applications made by language students in Moscow seeking to learn English in the United Kingdom. [34974]
§ Mr. HanleyAll applications for UK visas have to satisfy the requirements of the immigration rules. The visa section at Moscow, like all our other entry clearance issuing posts, processes all straightforward visa applications within 24 hours. However I inspected Moscow's visa section and approved plans to enlarge and improve the old premises at a cost of £700,000, better to accommodate visa applicants. The renovated visa section opened on 13 May and provides waiting space for 160 persons and new counter positions for eight visa officers at a time, out of a total of 17.