§ 47. Sir C. Osborneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks were made that the 600 women and 1,404 children admitted from Pakistan in February, 1968, under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, were genuine dependants; and when he estimates that this inflow of immigrant dependants will cease.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe numbers of women and children from Pakistan admitted as dependants in February, 1968 were 450 and 1,301 respectively. In each case the immigration officer will have made such inquiries as were necessary to satisfy him that the family relationship claimed was genuine.
The number of dependants arriving will in time decrease as a result of the reduction in the number of employment vouchers issued in recent years, and the number of children admitted will be affected by the provisions of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1968, removing the right of dependant children under 16 years of age to join a single parent here. I cannot envisage that the time will come when no dependants will be admitted.
§ 48. Sir C. Osborneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 1,582 men admitted from India in February, 1968 under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962 were classified as dependants of immigrants already here; and on what grounds they qualify as dependants.
§ Mr. EnnalsOf the 1,582 men admitted from India in February, 1968, only 267 were admitted for settlement,126W and of these 83 were classified as dependants. They will have been dependent males between the ages of 16 and 21 coming here with or to join the other members of their families, or dependent fathers aged 60 or over. The minimum age of entry for dependent fathers has since been raised to 65.
§ Captain Kerbyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under his regulations, what official documentary evidence, and in what language, has to be produced to his immigration officers by dependents in order to establish their legal dependent status and relationship, as wives, parents or children of an immigrant already settled in this country, before they can gain legal entry into Great Britain; and if he will list the number and type of documents required in detail.
§ Mr. EnnalsIt is for the person seeking admission as the dependant of a Commonwealth citizen resident in the United Kingdom to satisfy the immigration officer of his claim to admission, and where necessary to furnish evidence to substantiate that claim. There is no requirement that he should produce any particular class of document. The most satisfactory document is a valid entry certificate.