UK Chooses to Cut Wait Time on Pakistan Visas

It now seems that Britain will be cutting the time it takes to process visa applications that come in from Pakistan. This new cut in time comes after a backlog on Pakistan visas delayed thousands of applications.

The UK Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, said that the waiting times would fall from two months to just 15 days as soon as next month. So far, thousands of Pakistan students, that were hoping to study in the UK have been affected by the delays.

Some members of the UK Border Agency said that 5,000 people have been affected by the backlog in visa processing. Many of these people are first time visa applicants such as students. Another 9,000 appeals against visa refusals are pending.

These delays seems to come after the re-location of the UK visa office from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The move was made due to security concerns that have not been told to the public.

Pakistan goes on to say that many of its law abiding citizens are now faced with nothing but unacceptable delays due to the backlog on visa applications. Alan Johnson said that it was taking almost 60 days to clear visas. This had very little to do with the move, but it was mostly based around problems with new technology.

Alan Johnson said that they are currently down to 14 to 28 days. Their objective is to be offering Pakistan the same service that they offer the rest of the world by November. Thus, 15 days after a visa application is turned in, it will be processed.