ISLAMABAD, March 29: British High Commissioner Adam Thomson has said that an online visa service is being introduced in Pakistan and the UK Border Agency will not accept applications on paper forms from May 1.

Briefing journalists on changes in visa rules here on Thursday, Mr Thomson said those applying for work or study visa would be required to submit points-based applications online from April 6. The system will reduce  waiting time at the application centre.

A selective priority visa service will be launched on April 1 under which applications will be fast-tracked and generally dealt with within two to three working days.

Applicants in this category will have to pay Rs8,400 in addition to the normal visa fee. But the applicant in this category must have travelled to the UK over the past two years and complied with the immigration laws.

“People-to-people links are the foundation of the strong bilateral links between the UK and Pakistan. The changes to our visa systems are good for the British people and good for Pakistan. Our relationship is too important to allow fraudulent behaviour to tarnish genuine travellers. By improving customer services and clamping down on visa abuse we are protecting genuine travellers to the UK,” Mr Thomson said.

He said Pakistan was a major source of illegal migration to the United Kingdom with the number of asylum seekers from the country swelling to 6,000.

Answering a question, he said that Abu Dhabi would continue to serve as the regional hub for decision making on visa applications.

“There were problems in 2009 and 2010 and some passports also went missing, but the system has now been streamlined,” he said.

About 4,000 visa-seekers from Pakistan lost their passports in 2010 after introduction of the regional hub system and delays in processing caused a logjam. He described 2011 as the smoothest year in terms of improvement in visa-processing procedures.

He said ordinary applications were now being processed in 15 days and often in six to seven days.