To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many residents from the occupied part of Cyprus have been (a) granted and (b) refused a visa to visit the UK in each year since its introduction; and if he will make a statement. [127811]

The information requested is as follows:

Visitor visa applications
	Received	Issued	Refused	Other
1998	7,819	7,286	413	120
1999	7386	6,900	452	34
2000	6,782	5,603	284	895
FY 2001–02	5,831	5,060	135	636
FY 2002–03	6,593	5,400	470	723

The column referring to 'other' may include those unresolved applications which have been deferred pending further inquiries and have been carried over to the following year. Applications may also be withdrawn during processing but still count as an application received. Posts are also required to count all applications received (for example, a mother and her three children on one passport may count as four applications but only one entry clearance may be issued). Not all of the applicants who apply in the "TRNC" are "Turkish Cypriots". From 2001 Posts began reporting statistics by financial rather than calendar year.