§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 2 June,Official Report, column 82, on waiting times for visa applications, when he expects the Under Secretary of State to write to the hon. Member for Leicester, East. [4014]
§ Mr. Tony LloydThe information the hon. Member requested is as follows. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will therefore not be writing to the hon. Member.
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Post Waiting time for a straight forward visit application Waiting time if an interview is required for a visit visa Waiting time for a settlement interview Bombay same day same day 6 months Islamabad same day 14 days Q1 3 months Q2 wives 18 weeks Q2 husbands 7 months Q3 6 months Q4 11.5 months New Delhi same day same day Q1 same day Q2 11 weeks Q3 19 weeks Q4 6 months Calcutta 30 minutes 2 days 7 days Karachi same day 3 days 5 months Dhaka same day same day Q1 3 months Q2 6 months Q3 3 months Q4 8 months Washington same day same day within 24 hours New York same day 4 days same day
Post Waiting time for a straight forward visit application Waiting time if an interview is required for a visit visa Waiting time for a settlement interview Dar-es-Salaam same day same day same day Nairobi same day 17 days 3 months Lagos next day 11 days 4 months Entry clearance posts in the Indian sub-continent receive a heavy volume of applications to join families in the United Kingdom. People applying for an indefinite stay (known as "settlement") are divided into separate queues for interview. This allows posts to deal more quickly with those who may have a claim to compassionate treatment. The queue groupings are:
Q1: Spouses and children under 18 of British citizens; elderly relatives (maximum waiting time—3 months)
Q2: Spouses and children of non-British citizens (maximum waiting time—3 months)
Q3: Fiance(e)s and other first time applicants (maximum waiting time—6 months)
Q4: Re-applicants (maximum waiting time—9 months)