Window on Westminster

Many Kurds have told British MPs visiting Kurdistan over the last decade about their difficulties in securing visas to visit the UK for business or personal reasons. Now we know the latest facts, thanks to a parliamentary question tabled by Jason McCartney MP, the Chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on the Kurdistan Region. From April 2014 to March 2015, 2,895 applications were made via the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Erbil and 1,600 were rejected. That is a refusal rate of 55%.

We don't know the reasons for each refusal. It is often because the applicant failed to provide sufficient proof of assets or jobs to which they will want to return. I have seen other cases where small errors resulted in rejection. The forms must, however, be completed correctly and many refusals are probably due to failing to do this. I know the banking system in Kurdistan is under-developed, that many distrust banks due to their experience under Saddam and that, since Baghdad's full and then partial blockage of budget payments since 2014, some cannot demonstrate regular salary payments.

I was told that someone applied for a visa for a three day conference but was questioned about why they wanted to stay a few extra days. People understandably take advantage of a work conference to take a little break and do some sight-seeing, which increases tourism revenues too. Travelling to Britain to buy health treatment, see relatives, attend marriages and to meet business partners, see their factories, and receive training all benefit the UK and Kurdistan. It costs good money to apply for a visa and if people think there is a high chance of refusal they will vote with their feet and go elsewhere. How can that be in the British interest?

One problem is that there are no longer any interviews which can fill such gaps or iron out honest mistakes. Instead, British policy is to complete the visa process online, having given passport and biometric details at the VAC in Erbil. The forms are sent to entry clearance officers in Amman, who are obliged to make a decision on the basis of the supporting evidence alone, and are also completely independent of the Consulate General and Foreign Office diplomatic staff.

British diplomats used to be able to influence visa decisions. Many years ago, a Kurdish figure had been waiting for weeks in Jordan and was scheduled to speak at an important conference in the UK. I happened to be in Downing Street and enlisted the help of an aide to the Prime Minister who made some calls and the visa was granted with minutes to spare before the man returned to Kurdistan or flew to London.

That is no longer possible and the British foreign policy establishment has different views about this. One senior British diplomat in Iraq told me “This is a wasta-free process, what matters most is that people apply in good time with full supporting documentation”. Another senior British foreign policy practitioner argues that British diplomats and politicians should be able to recommend who gets a visa based on their assessment of what serves the British national interest.

The UK has the right to control and patrol its borders and make sure that visitors are genuine and will return. Although I cannot know why so many applications were refused, it strikes me as highly likely that many refusals are unfair and that this is doing a great deal of damage to the UK's own interests. Kurds tell me that American and European applications are easier to compile. The British forms could be made easier to complete by including guidance notes in Kurdish and a detailed explanation of what supplementary evidence is required.

The refusal rate is less than I feared, having been told by an expert source that it was nearly 100%. In May, the Chamber of Commerce also told a Pathfinder trade mission that 24 out of 26 people members were refused, although it was for an event in London organised by the UK government's current trade envoy to Iraq, albeit in another capacity. Kurds often say they will apply for easier European or Schengen visas. Britain will lose out if they do and should review the visa system to see how it can become fit for purpose.

* Nadhim Zahawi has been elected as one of five Conservative members on the Foreign Affairs Committee, having come a close second to Crispin Blunt as its Chairman. Labour MPs on the Committee will be elected this week and may include Mike Gapes, another long-standing Kurdophile. The Foreign Affairs Committee will then decide its priorities in the new parliament. My hope is that their excellent report on UK Relations with Kurdistan, released in March, can be revisited.