HC Deb 01 March 1978 vol 945 cc233-4W
Mr. Lawrence

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether under the existing rules the dependants of male fiances admitted to settle in the United Kingdom may themselves be admitted for settlement.

Dr. Summerskill

If a male fiance—who would be admitted temporarily in the first instance—is accepted for settlement after marriage, his dependants might also be allowed to join him, but they would have to meet the requirements of the relevant paragraphs of the Immigration Rules. Those most likely to be relevant provide that, in the case of parents and grandparents, at least one of them must in general be over 65—

October and the 1st of each month following 16th February in each year; and what proportion of these persons are registered (a) once and (b) more than once, for electoral registration purposes.

Mr. John

The following table gives estimates of the number of persons old enough to be on the electoral register who died in the periods stated in 1974. The estimates for England and Wales are based on recorded monthly figures of deaths in England and Wales given in "Mortality Statistics" published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Series DH1 No. 1 (1974) and Series DH5 No. 1 (1974). The estimates for Wales are a fixed proportion, based on 1974 population figures, of the estimates for England and Wales.

except for widows, who may be of any age—and that they must be wholly or mainly dependent upon their children settled in the United Kingdom. The admission of other near relatives—brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles—is confined, except in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances, to those over 65 who are isolated and distressed as defined in the rules. In all such cases, the sponsor must be able and willing to support and accommodate his dependants without recourse to public funds.