Prime Minister asks UK not to discriminate against Pakistani visa seekers

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday urged the UK not to discriminate against Pakistani students, businessmen and travellers while processing their visa cases.

The PM noted that according to a BBC report, 41 percent of Pakistani visa applicants’ cases were rejected as compared to the 14 percent world average rejection of visas by Britain.

Talking to Chris Grayling, British shadow home secretary, who called on him at the PM House, Gilani said it had been brought to his attention that even students who had been granted scholarships by him for higher studies in the UK had still not been issued visas.

The PM said that passports of Pakistani businessmen, who had applied for visas, should be returned so that they could travel to other countries while their visa cases were being processed. 

He also asked that a system be developed to expedite the processing, which in certain cases took more than 8-10 weeks.

If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk