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Visa Applications

Volume 455: debated on Wednesday 24 January 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines his Department follows when considering visa applications from individuals implicated in human rights abuses. (105037)

All UK visa applicants are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. Details of a number of people suspected of, or known to have, committed human rights abuses are entered on the Immigration Watchlist. Visa applicants are routinely checked against the Watchlist. Where the person has been excluded from the UK by personal decision of the Home Secretary, entry clearance will not be granted. In other cases, where the individual is shown to have an adverse history this information will feature heavily in considering the application. Entry clearance or immigration officers are empowered to refuse a person entry clearance or entry if they consider that their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.