Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many applications were made by (a) Chagossians and (b) other nationalities to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last 5 years; and how many of those applications were accepted.

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.

The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.