ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: Dispelling the impression that the United Kingdom was giving tough time to Pakistani visa seekers, the director of UK’s visa and consular services has said there was no change in the visa policy after the 7/7 incident. Talking to Dawn, Alex Pond said the British government did not regard every person sporting a beard as an extremist or terrorist. Likewise, she maintained, a pure Islamic (Arabic) name did not at all mean disqualification to get a British visa. “We make absolutely no judgment on a person’s name,” she stressed.
She said the British High Commission was accepting visa applications from all categories except working holiday makers.
“We process all straightforward non-settlement visa applications within five working days while the processing of settlement visa applications takes twelve weeks,” she added. She said 15 working days were required to process the applications of those who required an interview.
The fact that somebody had travelled to the UK in the past does not guarantee that he will get it again. “There is no blanket policy; you may require an interview even if you have travelled to the UK in the past,” she added.
She, however, said a small proportion of applicants was interviewed and many visa seekers including students who satisfy the High Commission get a visa without personal appearance.
Ms Pond said a visa did not guarantee entry to the United Kingdom. The entry can be refused if the visa had been obtained by misrepresentation of facts or the circumstances have changed significantly, she maintained.
She said it was possible to get a post-dated visa for a maximum of three months for those who do not have an immediate plan to travel.
To a question, she said the on-line visa service had been launched on a trial basis in the US and was currently not available in Pakistan and other countries. “If the trial goes well, the next step may be the introduction of this service in Europe.”
Pointing out that the British High Commission was using state-of-the-art technology to detect any forgery, she advised people not to waste money in efforts to obtain a visa on the basis of forged documentation.
She said the applications of the persons who submit forged documents will be refused and details given to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
She said the general requirements to get a visa were different for different categories.
Responding to a question, she said it was not mandatory to provide a machine-readable passport to obtain a British visa.
