§ Fiona MactaggartTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British posts abroad operate a pre-sift system for people applying for visit visas; and for each such post, how many people were(a) advised to withdraw their applications, (b) followed that advice, (c) pursued their applications and were refused visas and (d) pursued their applications and were granted visas in 1996 and 1997 to the latest available date. [40242]
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§ Mr. FatchettThe overseas Posts that operated a pre-sift system in 1996 and 1997 are as detailed. Records are kept only on the number of applicants that were advised to withdraw and then followed that advice. Records are not kept on subsequent action by such applicants.
Pre-sift 1996 Pre-sift 1997 Abu Dhabi 38 51 Abuja 1,907 2,076 Accra 238 480 Addis Ababa 288 513 Amman 2,140 1,901 Amsterdam 713 964 Bahrain 12 33 Baku 10 15 Bangkok 1,466 1,490 Banjul 531 750 Beirut 0 5 Belgrade 0 712 Bombay 4,022 3,839 Calcutta 15 13 Casablanca 50 6 Colombo 166 113 Compenhagen 67 112 Dakar 0 32 Damascus 167 179 Dhaka 721 808 Dubai 348 216 Dublin 179 177 Dusseldorf 340 240 Geneva 43 21 Hanoi 0 3 Hong Kong 70 0 Islamabad 12,987 8,375 Istanbul 199 112 Kathmandu 0 151 Khartoum 109 54 Kingston 1,195 1,210 Lagos 1,283 3,515 Lima 3 0 Luxembourg 0 6 Madras 2,634 2,786 Manila 22 229 Muscat 4 0 Nairobi 0 217 New Delhi 6,054 4,369 Oslo 169 208 Panama City 0 4 Paris 0 829 Peking 66 126 Quito 0 87 Rome 697 328 Sana'a 0 404 Sofia 94 0 Stockholm 244 46 Tashkent 126 18 Tehran 2,065 1,635 Tokyo 0 144 Vilnius 9 3 Washington 0 218 Wellington 0 37
§ Fiona MactaggartTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people from(a) Jamaica, (b) Barbados, (c) India, (b) Pakistan, (e) Russia, (f) Poland, (g) Malaysia, (h) Zimbabwe, (i) Ghana and (h) Bangladesh, (i) applied for, (ii) were granted and (iii) were refused entry clearance as visitors in 1997 to the latest available date. [40315]
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§ Mr. FatchettThe number of entry clearance applications received in one calendar year rarely equal the total of applications issued and refused. There are several reasons why this occurs. Applicants asked to return for a further interview may not attend; applicants may be awaiting a referral decision or a deferral for sponsor interview; applicants may be waiting for a further interview.
The number of applicants that applied for, were granted and were refused entry clearance as visitors in 1997 in the countries listed are as follows:
Country Applied Granted Refused Jamaica 2,879 2,719 126 Barbados 558 472 69 India 133,975 120,914 11,624 Pakistan 50,071 37,117 6,664 Russia 107,733 104,430 2,999 Poland 1,095 919 126 Malaysia 3,558 3,243 148 Zimbabwe 1,264 1,037 160 Ghana 18,471 13,760 4,603 Bangladesh 13,115 9,458 3,573 Information is not held centrally on the nationality of applicants and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.