HC Deb 23 January 1986 vol 90 cc247-8W
Mr. Tony Lloyd

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the current expected waiting time from application to interview for entry clearance by (a) fiancé(es) and (b) spouses at ports in the Indian sub-continent.

Mr. Eggar

Those applying on 31 December 1985 would expect to wait for the following times for first interview (in months):—

Dhaka New Delhi Bombay Islamabad Karachi
Queue 1 3 2½ 3 3 3
Queue 2 13 5½ 6 11 6
Queue 3 13 7 9 14 11
Queue 4 23 10 10 15 12

The queues are made up as follows:

Queue 1

  1. 1. Persons with a claim to the right of abode.
  2. 2. Dependent relatives over 70 years.
  3. 3. Special compassionate cases.

Queue 2

  1. 1. All spouses.
  2. 2. All children under 18 years.

Queue 3

  1. 1. Fiancé(es).
  2. 2. Other applicants for settlement.

Queue 4

Re-applicants.

Spouses and fiancé(es) submitting first time applications are placed in queues 2 and 3 respectively. However, those with a claim to the right of abode and certain compassionate cases are placed in queue 1. All re-applicants are placed in Queue 4.

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many clearance officers were employed in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in 1979; and what is the total number employed at the latest available date.

Mr. Eggar

The information is given in the following table:

December 1979 January 1986
Pakistan 21 16
India 10 11
Bangladesh 14 15

These figures do not include temporary entry clearance officers, sent to cover leave absences and seasonal increases in work load. (In April 1986 the permanent complement in Pakistan and Bangladesh will be increased to 18 and 17 respectively.)

Mr. Parry

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the average waiting time for persons wishing to enter the United Kingdom from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in 1979; and what is the waiting time at the latest date.

Mr. Eggar

Details for 1979 are given in table 5 of Cmnd. 9544 "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 1984".

As at 31 December 1985 those called for first interview in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh had waited (in months) as follows:

Queue 1 Queue 2 Queue 3 Queue 4
Islamabad 3 12 14 15
Karachi 3 7 12 12
New Delhi 3 6 10½ 10
Bombay 3 6 9 9
Dhaka 3 18 18 25

Waiting times to decision varied from case to case.