Diplomatic Missions and
International Organisations Unit
Protocol Directorate
Room KG.01
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
www.gov.uk/fco
25 October 2016
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST REF: 0926-16
Thank you for your email of 5 October asking for information under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) 2000. You asked:
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I would like to inquire about special mission
immunity visas granted to foreign nationals.
Please could you provide details on Special Mission Immunity Visas have been granted
between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015, broken down by date and country of
origin.
We are writing to confirm that we have now completed the search for the information you
requested.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not responsible for visa matters. For
information about visa endorsements you may wish to consult published guidance on
GOV.UK here, or contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI of the Home Office.
We can confirm, however, that the FCO does hold information relevant to your request.
Irrespective of the type of visa that may have been issued by UKVI, when a visit to the UK
meets the definition of a special mission (a temporary mission, representing a State, which is
sent by one State to another with the consent of the latter, in order to carry out official
engagements on behalf of the sending State) the FCO may consent to the visit as having
special mission status (SMS). Ultimately, however, the legal question of whether any
member of a special mission is entitled to immunity is always a matter for the Courts.
For the period between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015 the FCO consented to 15
requests for SMS, covering 47 visitors in total.
In view of the confidentiality of diplomatic exchanges, we do not publish further details about
SMS requests that have been granted or refused. Therefore, additional information related to
your request has been withheld under section 27(1)(a) of the FOIA. Section 27(1)(a)
recognises the need to protect information that would be likely to prejudice relations between
the United Kingdom and other states if it was disclosed. But if those applying for SMS wish
to announce the details of their visit to the UK, they are of course at liberty to do so.
The application of section 27(1)(a) requires us to consider the public interest test arguments
in favour of releasing and withholding the information. We acknowledge that releasing
information individual special missions would increase public knowledge about our relations
with the states in question. But section 27(1)(a) recognises that the effective conduct of
international relations depends upon maintaining trust and confidence between
governments. If the United Kingdom does not maintain this trust and confidence, its ability to
protect and promote UK interests through international relations will be hampered, which will
not be in the public interest. The disclosure of information about waivers of immunity and the
consequences of a decision, or failure, to grant a waiver of immunity could potentially
damage the bilateral relationship between the UK and other states. This would reduce the
UK Government's ability to protect and promote UK interests through its relations with other
states, which would not be in the public interest. For these reasons we consider that the
public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.
Yours sincerely,
Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations Unit
Protocol Directorate
We keep and use information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998. We may release this personal information to other UK
government departments and public authorities.
