Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Djibouti on the (a) entry requirements for and (b) reasons for denial of entry of British citizens wishing to enter that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Information on entry requirements for those travelling to Djibouti is accessible though the travel advice pages on Gov.uk. Tourist visas are available online or on arrival, though the Djiboutian authorities always retain the right to allow or deny visas at their own discretion. In the last year, there has been one case of a British national being denied access to Djibouti by the authorities. Following a recent evaluation of our travel advice, there are no plans for the UK Government to seek further clarification on entry requirements.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what information his Department holds on the number of UK citizens that have been refused entry to Djibouti in the last year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Information on entry requirements for those travelling to Djibouti is accessible though the travel advice pages on Gov.uk. Tourist visas are available online or on arrival, though the Djiboutian authorities always retain the right to allow or deny visas at their own discretion. In the last year, there has been one case of a British national being denied access to Djibouti by the authorities. Following a recent evaluation of our travel advice, there are no plans for the UK Government to seek further clarification on entry requirements.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what information his Department holds on the number of British citizens that were denied entry to Djibouti in the last year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Information on entry requirements for those travelling to Djibouti is accessible though the travel advice pages on Gov.uk. Tourist visas are available online or on arrival, though the Djiboutian authorities always retain the right to allow or deny visas at their own discretion. In the last year, there has been one case of a British national being denied access to Djibouti by the authorities. Following a recent evaluation of our travel advice, there are no plans for the UK Government to seek further clarification on entry requirements.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the extent of Djibouti's entry requirements for British citizens.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Information on entry requirements for those travelling to Djibouti is accessible though the travel advice pages on Gov.uk. Tourist visas are available online or on arrival, though the Djiboutian authorities always retain the right to allow or deny visas at their own discretion. In the last year, there has been one case of a British national being denied access to Djibouti by the authorities. Following a recent evaluation of our travel advice, there are no plans for the UK Government to seek further clarification on entry requirements.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of British National (Overseas) passport holders in Hong Kong.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Under an exchange of Memoranda to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport holders are eligible for consular assistance in third countries, but not in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China. Where we have humanitarian or human rights concerns about the treatment of BN(O) passport holders in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China, we can lobby the relevant authorities, raise issues in international fora and demonstrate our political support. For example, on 8 March, we raised the alleged treatment of Andy Li at the UN Human Rights Council. Our diplomats in Hong Kong regularly attend court to observe a number of national security cases, including for Jimmy Lai's, the NSL 47 and others. On 16 February, the Foreign Secretary raised prosecutions under the National Security Law with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic support his Department provides to British National (Overseas) passport holders in Hong Kong.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Under an exchange of Memoranda to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport holders are eligible for consular assistance in third countries, but not in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China. Where we have humanitarian or human rights concerns about the treatment of BN(O) passport holders in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China, we can lobby the relevant authorities, raise issues in international fora and demonstrate our political support. For example, on 8 March, we raised the alleged treatment of Andy Li at the UN Human Rights Council. Our diplomats in Hong Kong regularly attend court to observe a number of national security cases, including for Jimmy Lai's, the NSL 47 and others. On 16 February, the Foreign Secretary raised prosecutions under the National Security Law with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Somaliland joining the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of Somaliland joining the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of whether Somaliland meets the criteria for joining the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will support the application by Somaliland to join the Commonwealth.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. It is for the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Secretariat to take forward expressions of interest and to assess whether an aspirant member meets the eligibility criteria for membership. The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue.