§ Mr. Stanbrookasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time (a) between the expiry of a conditional leave to enter the United Kingdom and the refusal of an application for an extension of such leave, (b) between the final expiry of conditional leave and the determination of any appeal against the refusal of the extension by the adjudicator, (c) between the final expiry of conditional leave and the determination of any appeal against the adjudicator's decision, and (d) between the final expiry of conditional leave and the communication of the final order to leave after appeal proceedings for this and each of the last four years, respectively.
§ Mr. JohnSince 27th September 1976 the length of time between the expiry of a conditional leave to enter and the refusal of an application for an extension, where the application is made within the currency of an existing leave, has been nil. This is because the Immigration (Variation of Leave) Order 1976 automatically extends the leave in such circumstances to a date 28 days after the date of any refusal.
The information requested at (b) (c) and (d) is not readily available and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. In the general run of cases, the average time between the final expiry of conditional leave and the determination by the adjudicator of an appeal against the refusal of the extension might be of the order of nine to 12 months. The determination of an appeal against the adjudicator's decision, if leave to appeal were granted, might take another two or three months. A further few weeks might elapse before the final instruction to depart was issued. If deportation proceedings have to be initiated there will of course be further delay.