UK Border Agency turns down visa applications of leading Pak figures

October 6th, 2009 LONDON - The raging row between Pakistan and Britain on the issue of delay in issuing visas to Pakistanis by the British authorities is expected to overshadow the anti-terror talks between both countries when the British Secretary for Home Affairs Alan Johnson meets Pakistani political leaders in Islamabad. Johnson, who arrived in Islamabad along with Defence Secretary Bob Iansworth on Monday, would meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other leaders to discuss several other issues apart from the visa row.

October 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - British Secretary for Home Affairs Alan Johnson would be arriving in Islamabad on Monday (October 5) to meet Pakistan Foreign Ministry officials and reduce tension between both countries that has crept in due to the delay on part of Britain in issuing visas to Pakistanis. Johnson, accompanied by Defence Secretary Bob Iansworth, would meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and discuss several other issues apart from the visa issue.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan-based terrorists are exploiting Britain's shoddy visa system to come to the country. Pakistan is considered by Britain as the No.1 base for Islamic extremists brainwashing potential terrorists.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - British anti-terror border controls were described as wholly inadequate after a newspaper revealed that only 29 out of 66,000 Pakistani immigration applicants were interviewed by British officials. Visa checks on immigrants from Pakistan were condemned as a sham after the Daily Mail said official figures showed that just 29 out of 66,000 applicants were interviewed by officials since Britain put in place a supposedly rigorous system last October.

August 17th, 2009 EDINBURGH - A Scottish Government minister is to take the case of Pakistani visitors barred from visiting Scotland to the Home Office. Michael Russell, the external affairs minister, has written to Home Office minister Phil Woolas asking for a meeting after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) refused to grant visas to a Pakistani pipe band and a business delegation coming to Glasgow.

August 3rd, 2009 LAHORE - A large number of Pakistani students still seek admission in universities abroad and their preferred destination remains the UK, even after they were held and deported by British law enforcement agencies. Nine Pakistani students were held by the agency in the UK on suspicion of terrorism and later released and deported without being charged.

July 4th, 2009 LONDON - British immigration officials in Pakistan devote just 11 minutes to scrutinize and pass a visa application in a country considered to be the hotbed of terrorism, the Telegraph has revealed. The revelation that officials are also not checking supporting evidence in thousands of applications from Pakistan and Afghanistan has fuelled security concerns.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - "Are you a terrorist?" It is a question that every foreign student, as young as five year-old, has to answer while applying to boarding schools in Britain. According to reports, this is being implemented under the new UK Border Agency regulations, which came into force from June 1 this year, The Telegraph reports.

June 21st, 2009 LONDON - Massive irregularities have been unearthed in Britain's immigration system with a shocking disclosure that more than one in every three successful visa applications from Pakistani citizens "lacked credibility". According to a secret internal report, which has been now leaked to The Sunday Times, travel permits were given to thousands of Pakistanis to visit Britain without even the most basic checks and investigations.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - Three illegal Indian immigrants have been jailed for their role in Britain's biggest visa fraud. Jatinder Kumar Sharma, 44, and his two wives - Rakhi Shahi, and Neelam Sharma - helped more than a thousand illegal immigrants into the country.

May 7th, 2009 LONDON - Three Indian illegal immigrants have been accused of running the biggest visa scam in British history. Ringleader Jatinder Sharma, 44, whose firm provided its customers with fake degree papers, references and CVs to help them enter Britain illegally, has already pleaded guilty to a number of immigration offences.

May 7th, 2009 LONDON - Three Indian illegal immigrants are reported to be behind the biggest visa scam in British history. According to The Telegraph, they were so confident of fooling the Home Office that one of them offered their services on a no win, no fee basis, a court has heard.

May 7th, 2009 LONDON - Three Indian illegal immigrants have been accused of running the biggest visa scam in British history. Ringleader Jatinder Sharma, 44, whose firm provided its customers with fake degree papers, references and CVs to help them enter Britain illegally, has already pleaded guilty to a number of immigration offences.

April 10th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan has criticized Britain for its slack visa norms after it was disclosed that most of those who were nabbed during anti-terror raids in north-west of England were holding student visas. Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan said British authorities in were not doing enough to stop the illegal passage of people to the country.

March 31st, 2009 LONDON - The British government Tuesday introduced a new strict visa regime for students from outside Europe amid a 30 percent rise in the number of Indians studying in Britain. International students in Britain last year paid tuition fees worth a total of 2.5 billion pounds.