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UK Clearance Office in Abu Dhabi to
Vet Visa Applicants

DUBAI - Pakistani students looking to study in the UK may be subject to a phone interview from an office in Abu Dhabi to determine if they are a potential terrorism threat.

In comments given to British lawmakers on Monday, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that the additional checks would stop “risky” individuals from entering the UK.

The programme represents a strengthening of border security following the arrest earlier this month of terrorism suspects who had
travelled to the UK from Pakistan
on student visas.

“The interviews will ascertain whether or not they are studying at an accredited college in the UK,” said a
spokesman for the UK Home Office.

“They will accompany biometric tests and tests to see whether the individuals are on watch lists.”

Previously the UK has not had a large-scale programme of
interviewing student visa applicants.

The Home Office spokesman declined to comment on whether students from areas other than
Pakistan would be interviewed as part of the assessment process.

Visa applications will still be processed from Pakistan but the final decision will be made from the clearance office in Abu Dhabi.

The UK Home Office spokesman
said that the clearance office was part of the operations of the UAE Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The government has come under increasing pressure to tighten border controls following the arrest of 12 Pakistani men who were allegedly
involved in a terror plot against
the UK.

Ten of them were on student visas.

More than 42,000 Pakistanis came to Britain as students between 2004
and 2007.

Jacqui Smith told parliamentarians that phone interviews should be conducted only “where necessary” and only on “those people who are
most likely to be risky”.

martin@khaleejtimes.com