DUSHANBE, August 24, Asia-Plus - The guidance for citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan who need to apply for a visa to enter the United Kingdom has changed.

According to information from the British Embassy in Dushanbe, with immediate effect all Tajik citizens resident in Tajikistan should make their application to either the British Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan or in Moscow.  Applications in Almaty should be made direct to the Embassy, whereas applications in Russia should be submitted via one of the Embassy''s Visa Collection Agencies located in large cities around the Russian Federation.  Full details are available from the websites of the British Embassies in Almaty, Moscow or Dushanbe.

Commenting on the change, the British Ambassador in Tajikistan, Mr. Graeme Loten, said: "In an ideal world it would be good to be able to issue British visas here at our Embassy in Dushanbe, but unfortunately the demand is simply not great enough at the moment to allow us to do this. However we hope that by opening the possibility of getting a visa either in Almaty or in Moscow we have eased the burden on prospective Tajik visitors to the UK."