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Visas

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UK visa fees. [66083]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: On 26 June, the Privy Council made the Consular Fees Order 2002, which sets out the new fees for UK visas with effect from 1 July.

Members of the House will recall that on 17 June the House approved the draft section 102 Order, made under The Finance (No. 2) Act 1987—following a debate in the Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation on 11 June. The section 102 Order provides the legal authority for the visa fee increase by allowing past deficits incurred in the costs of running the Entry Clearance operation to be taken into account when setting visa fees and for the cross- subsidisation of the costs of different entry clearance services.

Most visa fees will go up by between 8 per cent. and 10 per cent. The main increases are:

Standard visit visa: up 9 per cent. from £33 to £36


The single entry visa has ceased to exist since the introduction in October 2000 of visas of leave to enter. The new standard visa for multiple entries valid for six months at £36 is cheaper than the old six-month multiple-entry visa, which provided the same level of service at a cost of £45.


Five-year multiple-entry visa: up 10 per cent. from £80 to £88


Settlement visa: up 8 per cent. from £240 to £260


In addition, the long-term non-settlement visa fee will increase by 50 per cent. from £50 to £75.

A new 10-year multiple entry visa priced at £150 is also being introduced for the first time. There is growing demand for this kind of visa. Its introduction will provide an enhanced service to regular travellers to the UK, without compromising the integrity of the Immigration Control.

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The Consular Fees Order setting new visa fees is being made not only to cover current costs but also to recover past deficits of visa fees (from April 2000), caused by the increased cost of the entry clearance operation worldwide. It is intended that these increases will return the entry clearance operation to a self-financing basis by 2003–04.

We recognise that these fee increases will be unwelcome. However, we must make sure that the full cost of providing a visa service is covered by visa fees.

To put these increases into context:

These would be the first fee increase for visitor's visas since 1995


The proposed increases still keep UKvisas within their Service Delivery Agreement commitment not to increase visa fees in real terms


The standard visit visa at £36 is still cheaper than the old six-month multiple entry visa which provided the same level of service at a cost of £45


Applicants now get more for their money. Since October 2000, the standard visit visa has not only allowed people to visit the UK on multiple occasions during the validity of their leave to enter, they also benefit from an enhanced and speedier immigration process on arrival.

UKvisas is undertaking a range of measures to reduce costs and increase productivity. But these alone will not be sufficient to recover the deficit. The increases will enable UKvisas not only to recover past deficits, but also to cover the increased costs of the provision of visa services.

East Timor

Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what continuing support the Government will offer to East Timor. [66089]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Further to my answer of 25 June 2002, Official Report, column 721, I should clarify that at the Donor Conference in Dili on 14–15 May, the UK

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confirmed its pledge of £12 million to East Timor over the next three years. This brings the total UK assistance package to over £30 million since 1999.

Western Sahara

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of France concerning the future mineral exploitation of the Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [64864]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I am informed that we have had no discussions with the Government of France concerning the future mineral exploitation of the Western Sahara.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the Government of Morocco concerning their occupation of the Western Sahara. [64861]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We regularly discuss the issue of Western Sahara with the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco. My predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw), raised the issue during his visit to Morocco in September 2001 and when he met with Mohammed Benaissa the Moroccan Foreign Minister during his visit to London in March 2002. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also discussed the subject with Mohammed Benaissa during his visit to London in February 2002.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the British contribution has been to Minurso for each of the past five years. [64862]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The British contribution to Minurso over the past five years is as follows:

	£
1997–98	934,360
1998–99	2,369,371
1999–2000	1,014,550
2000–01	1,984,177
2001–02	2,148,347

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the UN Secretary General concerning the proposals by his representative on the future of the Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [64863]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The mandate for the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara is due for renewal on 31 July. The UN Secretary General asked UN Security Council members to choose a suitable direction for his special envoy James Baker, to pursue in helping the parties find a solution to the dispute in Western Sahara.

UK officials have been working with American, French and other Security Council colleagues in New York and in the capitals of Security Council members in an effort to reach a consensus on a suitable direction before 31 July.

The UK has maintained a consistent position, that we continue to support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General in trying to find a just and durable resolution to the dispute.

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Zimbabwe

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which overseas Governments he has consulted since the Zimbabwean Presidential elections on their acceptance of (a) the result and (b) the legitimacy of these elections. [65999]

Mr. MacShane: We have discussed the result and legitimacy of the Presidential election in Zimbabwe with our European Union partners, the Commonwealth, members of the Southern African Development Community and other concerned members of the international community, including the United States.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 28 May regarding a constituent. [65576]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: My officials at UKvisas replied to the hon. Member for Walsall, North's letters of 28 May on 24 and 26 June 2002.

Chechnya

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring of human rights in Chechnya has been undertaken by UK representatives. [64859]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The embassy in Moscow sends regular reports of the human rights situation in Chechnya, though the security situation has meant that we permit no British Government personnel to visit the region. There are however a number of non-governmental organisations active in monitoring human rights in Chechnya, with whom we are in close touch.

EU Applicants

Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the Government's assessment of the economic and social impact on the United Kingdom of the accession to the EU of the Eastern European applicant nations. [61765]

Peter Hain [pursuant to his reply, 17 June 2002, c. 7]: The answer that was given to my right hon. Friend on 17 June contained an error. The full correct answer is as follows:

The Government have not made an integrated study of the economic and social impact of EU enlargement on the United Kingdom. However, independent economic studies by the European Round Table of Industrialists and the Centre for Economic Policy Reform show that EU enlargement could increase UK GDP by £1.75 billion and create 300,000 jobs among the EU-15. I have placed copies of these reports in the House of Commons Library.

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