§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance for settlement at the British post in(a) Manila, (b) Accra, (c) Lagos, (d) Kingston, (e) Nicosia, (f) Cairo, (g) Bangkok, (h) Rabat and (i) each post in each country of the Indian sub-continent on 31 March or the latest convenient date could expect to wait for (i) interview, (ii) referral of the case to the Home Office and the requested information being received by the post, (iii)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Islamabad 3 months 3 months 6 months 9 months Karachi No queues — — — Dhaka (end of May) 3 months 7 months 8 months 10 months New Delhi 1 day 4 months 7 months 10 months Bombay 1 day 4 months 7 months 9 months Madras 1 day 7 weeks 5 weeks Nil Calcutta No queues — — — Settlement queues are organised as follows:
- Q1 Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.
- Q2 All spouses and all children under 18 years.
- Q3 Fiance(e)s and others applying for the first time.
- Q4 Re applicants.
Visit visa applications are dealt with within 24 hours excect in Islamabad where, due to seasonally high demand, applicants requiring a full interview can expect to wait 5–7 days.
(ii) If referred to the Home Office, inquiries concerning applications may take from 1–12 months depending on individual circumstances.
(iii) Decisions after first interview are taken within 24 hours in the majority of cases in Indian Sub Continent posts.
(iv) Despatch times of explanatory statements are:
Settlement Non-settlement Islamabad 12 weeks 4 weeks Karachi Figures not available at this time Dhaka 12 weeks 4 weeks New Delhi 12 weeks 4 weeks Bombay 12 weeks 4 weeks Madras Figures not available at this time Calcutta 4 weeks 4 weeks