The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)
I would like to correct an answer I gave during a Westminster Hall debate to the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), Official Report, 11 January 2012, column 129WH, who asked to which embassy in Iran should a family of Iranian origin living in Britain who wants to invite a family member to an occasion here, or the other way round, address its inquiries. We regret that the closure of our embassy means that Iranians will now have to travel to another country to obtain a visa for the UK. We remain committed to engaging with the Iranian people, even though we do not have an embassy in Tehran. But our visa centres in UAE and Turkey will be open for Iranians, and we continue to welcome applicants. Iranian nationals wishing to submit an application for a visit visa only can do so at any visa application centre worldwide. Iranian nationals may submit applications for all visa categories in the UAE, at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, and in Turkey at Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa or Gaziantep. All applications must still be submitted online and attendance at the visa application centres remains by pre-booked online appointment only. More information on this can be found on the UK Border Agency’s website. Those wishing to travel to Iran should contact the nearest Iranian embassy for advice.