Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will put safeguards in place to ensure that (a) out of country entry clearance applications are rigorously checked, (b) all supporting documents for such applications are fairly considered and (c) applicants' details are not confused with other cases.

All out of country entry clearance applications are subject to an extensive range of mandatory and discretionary checks. These include, but are not limited to, biographic and biometric identity checks against national and international police records and against previous immigration history, as well as document verification.

Applications are submitted at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) and are individually bundled. The bundles are sent to Decision Making Centres to be assessed by an Entry Clearance Officer, before being returned to the VAC. The application remains in individual bundles throughout the process to prevent applicants' details being confused with other cases.