To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications have been checked for fraud by entry clearance officers in Islamabad (a) in each of the last five years and (b) since 27 October 2008. (280129)

All visa applications have been checked for fraud in the last five years.

Prior to 27 October 2008, Entry Clearance Officers in Pakistan conducted passport forgery checks in all cases that had been approved for issue and document verification teams augmented this by checking supporting documents. Since 27 October 2008 the passport forgery check has been extended to all applications and supporting document verification takes place in over 80 per cent. of applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many entry clearance officers based in Islamabad are (a) locally engaged and (b) British nationals. (280130)

As of 31 May 2009 there are 13 UK-based entry clearance officers working in Islamabad, all of whom are British nationals. None are locally engaged.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications for entry into the UK have been made in Pakistan in (a) each of the last five years and (b) since 27 October 2008. (280137)

The number of visa applications for entry to the UK that have been lodged in Pakistan since 1 January 2004 are as follows:

These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.