During his visit to Pakistan Home Secretary Alan Johnson assured the Pakistan Government that the UK Border Agency is committed to providing an efficient visa service to its customers and is working hard to reduce visa processing times. He said he recognised and regretted the distress that had been caused to legitimate applicants due to IT problems experienced during the summer. During his visit to Pakistan, Mr Johnson toured the UK Border Agency offices in Islamabad and was reassured by staff that they will be able to reduce the waiting time for visa applications to 15 working days in November, in line with global customer service standards.

"We have introduced tough checks around the world for anyone applying for a visa to enter the UK, with applications checked for fraud and forgery, with individuals fingerprinted and checked against a range of watch-lists. We have also taken every step to ensure the rules are clear, with advice on the application process is available on our website.”

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