Entry Clearance (Hansard, 11 May 2001)

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 30 March 2001,Official Report, column 797W, on entry clearance, for what reason a backlog of replies to hon. Members' letters on entry clearance cases accumulated; and what has been the reduction in waiting times since the Minister for Europe assumed responsibility. [158335]

§ Mr. Vaz
A backlog of replies to right hon. and hon. Members' letters had accumulated due to a shortage of staff in the Visa Correspondence Unit. This has now been addressed. I assumed ministerial responsibility for entry clearance in October 1999. In that month 38 per cent. of letters received from hon. Members were replied to within 15 working days. In March 2001, 92 per cent. were replied to within that period.

§ Mr. Donohoe
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if information given to an entry clearance officer during an informal assessment of a visitor's visa application is retained and used in a later fresh application by the same applicant. [160682]

§ Mr. Vaz
If an applicant decides not to pursue a visit visa application after the preliminary assessment, the visa application form may be retained. If the applicant subsequently lodges a formal application, the interviewing entry clearance officer can consider any evidence relevant to the application when making a decision on the case. The information taken at the pre-assessment stage may be put to the applicant, who would be invited to explain any discrepancies that emerge.

§ Mr. Donohoe
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedures are in place for an applicant to challenge the contents of an entry clearance officer's notes taken during an informal452W assessment of the prospects of the award of a visitor visa on the grounds of the applicant's statements being misunderstood. [160697]

§ Mr. Vaz
The pre-assessment is the procedure whereby an entry clearance officer can give advice to an applicant that their application is unlikely to succeed. The applicant does not have to accept this advice and can proceed with the application at any time. If an applicant therefore believes that his or her statements have been misunderstood during the preliminary assessment, he or she will be given the opportunity to make this clear during the formal visa interview.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the nature of the reduction in the amount of paperwork required from applicants for entry clearance at Islamabad. [160843]

§ Mr. Vaz
The visa section in Islamabad has recently significantly improved the service they offer. A special exercise conducted in March reduced the non-settlement queue from 42 working days to a same day service and brought all the settlement queues back within the Ministerially agreed targets.
Alongside the special exercise, it was felt that less emphasis should be placed upon the documents submitted with an application when making a decision on the case. Islamabad formerly produced forms which listed in great detail the documents that an applicant should submit with each type of application. Applicants are offered the INF series of visa information leaflets, which clearly explain the Immigration Rules and how to make an application.