§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many non-settlement visa applications were(a) received, (b) determined and (c) refused at entry clearance posts worldwide in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002 and (iv) 2003 to date. [131100]
§ Mr. MullinThe information is as follows.
Non-settlement visas issued Received Issued Refused 2000 1,616,790 1,431,283 110,391 FY 2001–02 1,687,816 1,471,458 164,916 FY 2002–03 1,714,167 1,465,472 166,462 The table above shows the number of non-settlement visa applications received, issued and refused at entry clearance posts worldwide each year since 2000. Since 2001, statistics have been collated by financial year (1 April to 31 March) rather than calendar year.
The discrepancies in these figures are due to the fact that applications can be carried forward from one month to the next before being resolved, and applications can be withdrawn during processing and still count as an application received. Posts are also required to count all applications received (a mother and three children on one passport may count as four applications, but one entry clearance may be issued).
§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) short-term and (b) long-term student visa applications were (i) received, (ii) determined and (iii) refused at entry clearance posts worldwide in each month since 1 January 2002. [131101]
§ Mr. MullinWorldwide statistics for student visas are collated by financial year (1 April to 31 March) only, and are not available on a monthly basis. The statistics do not distinguish between short-term and long-term student visa applications. During the financial year 2002–03 the worldwide figures for the number of student visa applications that were received, determined and refused were as follows
(i) Received applications—171,100(ii) Determined applications—120,888(iii) Refused applications—48,845