§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time which elapses between the male New Commonwealth immigrant entering the United Kingdom and his wife joining him.
§ Dr. SummerskillInformation on which to base such an estimate is not available. It is likely that the average varies substantially for immigrants of different citizenship. Some limited information on dependants from the Indian Sub-continent suggests that over 115W a half of the sponsors of dependants granted entry clearances for settlement in 1977 had been in the United Kingdom for 10 years or more. On the other hand, it is thought that wives of United Kingdom passport holders from East Africa often accompany their husbands or join them shortly afterwards.