28. Mr. Meadowcroftasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current average delay between applications to enter the United Kingdom as the fiancé or husband of a British citizen and the determination of such application.
Mr. WhitneyIt is only in the Indian subcontinent, where there is a large number of such applicants, that there is any signficant delay. Husbands and fiancés now wait the same time for interview as non-priority applicants for immediate settlement. These figures are published quarterly in the Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics". Those interviewed at the end of June at New Delhi had waited 10 months, at Bombay seven months, at Islamabad and Karachi nine months, and at Dhaka 20 months.