§ Mr. GorrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to reduce the obstacles presented to citizens from the Indian sub-continent wishing to visit their immediate family in the UK. [132244]
§ Mr. VazThe 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act provided for the restoration of appeal rights for people refused visas to visit close family members in the UK. The new appeal right, which will apply to many visitors from the sub-continent, will come into effect from 2 October, and will provide a further, independent review of refusal decisions.
We are making every effort to improve the visa service, particularly in the sub-continent. At my request, there was an independent high level review of the Immigration Section in Islamabad last month, which made recommendations for improvements in the service there. We are in the process of implementing those.