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Stiri Marea Britanie
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express.co.uk 21.11.2008
Up to 300,000 visas allowing foreigners the right to enter Britain are wrongly handed out every year, MPs were told yesterday. The shock admission – from a senior immigration official – means that millions of illegal immigrants may have been let into the country. Home Office staff are under pressure to grant rather than reject visas to meet Labour’s productivity targets. The figure renewed anger over Labour’s soft-touch border controls last night.
Senior Tories said the admissions “made a mockery” of the Government’s claims to be in control of immigration. Linda Costelloe-Baker, an independent watchdog of the visa system, laid bare the failings during a hearing of the Commons Home Affairs Committee yesterday. She said around 15 per cent of short-term visa approvals were marred by errors. Nearly two million visas are approved each year, giving foreign nationals the right to come to the UK for six months, she said. Embassies and consulates examine 2.4million applications each year from tourists, businessmen and people visiting relatives to check if they intend to leave after their visa expires.
They also check they have enough money to live in the country and are not looking for a job, she said. Around 80 per cent are approved. Ms Costelloe-Baker said officials considering visa applications found it much easier to approve visas than reject them.
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