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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Pakistanis top UK visa rejections | Pakistanis top UK visa rejections |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Pakistanis are more likely to be turned down for visas to visit the UK than any other nationals, figures show. | Pakistanis are more likely to be turned down for visas to visit the UK than any other nationals, figures show. |
| Some 41% of applications for family visitor visas from Pakistan were rejected in the last year, according to Home Office statistics seen by the BBC. | |
| Bangladeshis were the second least successful with a refusal rate of 31% but the figure for India was just 14%. | |
| Sarah Teather, Lib Dem MP for Brent East, blames discrimination by the Home Office, but the government denies this. | |
| Tougher controls are thought by some people to be due to growing controversy over immigration, and fears visitors are staying beyond their visa and disappearing into the UK. | Tougher controls are thought by some people to be due to growing controversy over immigration, and fears visitors are staying beyond their visa and disappearing into the UK. |
| 'Blatant discrimination' | |
| Ms Teather said: "The government need to urgently review their practice and look at why it is so many Pakistani family visa are being refused. | |
| "Why is it so high in comparison with other countries? Is this bad practice?" | |
| She added: "It does look on the face of it as though it's blatant discrimination against Pakistanis. | |
| "It's as if they've decided that all Pakistanis are going to overstay and as a consequences are refusing their visas." | |
| The Home Office rejected accusations of discrimination and said it refused applications only when they were unsatisfactory. | |
| Applicants must show they will leave the country when they are supposed to and have sufficient funds for their stay, it added. |