§ Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Jamaicans were(a) given and (b) refused visitor visas to the United Kingdom in (i) the last month for which figures are available and (ii) the same month in 2002; and if he will make a statement. [121850]
§ Beverley HughesI am afraid the information requested on grants and refusals of visitor visas to Jamaican nationals is not available.
Visitor visas for Jamaican nationals were not issued until January 2003 when the visa regime was introduced. Prior to that, however, some Jamaican nationals chose to apply for entry clearance for temporary purposes to aid passage through the immigration control.
The published information relates to grants and refusals of entry clearance for temporary purposes, which includes visitors and others seeking temporary admission to the UK. The latest published information on grants and refusals of entry clearance (including visas), for settlement and temporary purposes, relates to 2000. Data for 2001 and 2002 will be published in November 2003 in the Home Office publication, "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2002", which will be available in the Library.
Decisions made on applications for entry clearance are recorded according to where the application is made rather than by the nationality of the applicant. The published information therefore relates to the number of applications made in Jamaica. It is not possible to identify separately Jamaican nationals applying for entry clearance, either in Jamaica or elsewhere in the world.