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Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Volume 497: debated on Wednesday 14 October 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision on the entry clearance application made to the High Commission in Islamabad, reference 1494299, will be made. (292044)

Entry clearance application reference Islamabad 1494299 was submitted on 15 April 2008 and a decision was made on 6 June 2008. Although the appeal against the decision was allowed on 2 March 2009, notification was not received in the Visa Section until 10 June 2009. A letter was sent to the appellant on 15 June 2009 requesting submission of the passport, and this was subsequently received on 2 July 2009. Verification checks were then undertaken and the visa was issued on 8 October 2009.

The delay in processing was due to a backlog of appeal cases in Islamabad. The UK Border Agency plans to reduce this to near zero levels by mid-November. Turnaround times in allowed appeal cases will then be significantly quicker.