Memorandum submitted by Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (China)
X VISA MATTERS
128. There is a serious problem of illegal
immigration from China to the UK. Nationals of the PRC are subject
to a visa regime. Since 1995 all PRC nationals transiting the
UK have also been required to hold Direct Airside Transit Visas
(DATVs).
129. We have had a series of discussions
with the Chinese authorities in order to try and reduce the flow
of illegal immigrants. As part of this process the Home Office
has recently appointed an Immigration Liaison Officer to the British
Embassy in Beijing. We also try to encourage the Chinese authorities
to co-operate in returning failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants,
who are Chinese nationals but who arrived in the UK without travel
documents, by providing them with new documentation.
130. The number of visa applications dealt
with by the Beijing Embassy has grown substantially in recent
years. Although the overall increase in visa applications between
1998 and 1999 has been only 14 per cent, the number of visa applications
from private passport holders, which are the most difficult to
assess, has increased by over 40 per cent. This increase is partly
because more Chinese now have access to private passports but
also because the number of Chinese wishing to study in the UK
is rising. The increase in the number of student visa applications
can be attributed, in part, to the Prime Minister's initiative
to encourage foreign students to study in the UK which he announced
in Beijing in October 1998.
131. In 1999 the British Embassy in Beijing
received 36,116 visa applications. The refusal rate across the
board was 9 per cent. The refusal rate for students was 17 per
cent, a drop from 24 per cent in 1998. The very rapid increase
in visa applications over the last five years, coupled with serious
space problems in our existing buildings, and the consequent inability
to draft in extra staff as fast as we would like, have led to
some problems in the visa-issuing service, and to some long queues.
There are now 10 UK based staff and 26 locally engaged staff,
both Chinese and expatriate, in the Visa Section. In order to
cope with the workload, five new UK based and 13 new locally engaged
staff have been authorised. The section is moving this month to
specially-designed new premises. The combination of additional
physical and human resources should enable the Embassy to offer
a high quality visa service.
132. The Consulates General at Shanghai
and Guangzhou also offer visa services. The Shanghai service was
set up in January 1998. The number of applications received in
1999 was 8,440, an increase of over 50 per cent from 1998. Two
UK based staff and seven locally engaged staff are working in
the Shanghai Visa Section. Two additional UK based staff have
been allocated to meet the increased demand.
133. The Guangzhou service was opened in
September 1999. The number of applications received has risen
steadily since the Visa Section opened. The number of applications
received in the last quarter of 1999 was 2,983. There are two
UK based staff and eight locally engaged staff working in the
Guangzhou Visa Section. An additional two UK based staff have
been allocated to meet the anticipated increase in demand.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
17 May 2000
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