Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is normal practice to request biometric procedures to be conducted before final approval for permission to enter the UK on a visitor's visa; and if so, whether they plan to consider approving such applications before an appointment to collect biometric data is made.

The Government uses biographic and biometric information to conduct iden-tity and suitability checks on visa applicants before deciding whether to issue an applicant with a visa. If we did not complete these checks before approv-ing a visa application, we risk granting entry clearance to individuals who have an adverse immigration history and exposing the UK to harm from criminals who seek to come to the UK.