§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications from immigrants claiming they are entitled to settle in the United Kingdom are currently under consideration at embassy offices in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh; and how long applicants must wait for an interview by an entry clearance officer.
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§ Mr. LuardThe numbers of outstanding applications from persons seeking entry clearance to join sponsors in the United Kingdom for settlement are approximately—
Pakistan 14,000 India 5,000 Bangladesh 17,000 Precise figures are not available, because in some cases it has been necessary to estimate numbers of dependants. Fiancées and fiancées of persons already settled in the United Kingdom are not included because such applicants are normally admitted temporarily, in the first instance pending marriage.
The waiting times for an entry certificate interview are—
Pakistan 13 months India (at Delhi 8 months and at Bombay) 16 months Bangladesh 23 months All posts have arrangements under which they grant earlier interviews to certain categories and in cases where there are strong and exceptional compassionate grounds.
§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications from immigrants claiming entitlement to settle in the United Kingdom were handled by entry clearance officers in: (a) Pakistan, (b) India and (c) Bangladesh for the first nine months of 1976; and how many applications were rejected.
§ Mr. LuardDuring the first nine months of 1976 our posts in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh handled and rejected the following numbers of entry clearance applications for settlement.
Handled Refused Pakistan 13,281 1,970 India 9,133 876 Bangladesh 7,968 1,127 NB. These figures cover only applicants for settlement and do not include fiancés or fiancées who are normally accepted on a temporary basis in the first instance pending marriage.