Visas: Chinese Visitors

Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

There are no visas for Hong Kong or for Taiwan.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon]

My Lords, I am disappointed that the Minister sounds extraordinarily complacent on this issue. He has heard from all sides of the House that there is a serious problem, and it is not the case that people are saying there should be no visas. It seems that we are making matters extraordinarily difficult for people from China and, as we have heard, from Brazil who would contribute to the economy of this country. Does the Home Office or any other part of government undertake an economic assessment of the impact these visa regulations are having?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, there are no visas for Brazil, and there is no plan to introduce them. That decision was made last week, and an announcement was made to that effect.

I am not complacent about this issue. I see the enormous potential of tourism and commercial links with China. I think it is a very important area of activity. However, as I explained in my answers to noble Lords, we need to maintain a visa system for our own border security. Having decided that we need to put one into place, and I am very pleased to hear that the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, agrees with that decision, the task is to try to make sure that the processing is as straightforward and easy as possible.

I have given illustrations of the figures. We should talk in figures and not in speculation. I have given the figures that 97% of visa applications are processed within 15 days and that our charge of £81 compares with the £126 it costs a UK citizen for a visa to go to China. We try to keep our service as competitive as possible, and it is right to do so.