§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iranians have entered and left the United Kingdom for each of the last 24 months; and what have been the purposes of the visits by percentage.
§ Mr. RaisonStatistics of admissions analysed by the purpose of journey and citizenship-nationality are published annually in "Control of Immigration: Statistics "—table 1(b) of the issue for 1979, Cmnd. 7875, to be published tomorrow. For monthly admissions of Iranian nationals from January 1978 to September 1979 I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave on 4 December and 19 December—[Vol. 975, c. 98–9; Vol. 976, c. 224–26.]; admission of Iranian nationals were 12.1 thousand in October 1979, 8.2 thousand in November 1979 and 8.7 thousand in December 1979. To provide the percentage breakdown by purpose of journey on a monthly basis would involve disproportionate cost, but the following table gives it for each of the last eight quarters. Information about the numbers of Iranian nationals who have left the United Kingdom is not available.
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IRANIAN NATIONALS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, BY PURPOSE OF JOURNEY, JANUARY 1978—DECEMBER 1979 Percentage of total number of journeys Total admitted (thousands) = 100 Visitors given leave to enter for 12 months Passengers in transit Diplomats and dependants Work permit holders and dependants Others given leave to enter Those admitted for marriage Accepted for settlement on arrival Returning from temporary absence abroad Students per cent. Ordinary Business 1978 1st quarter 40.0 65 7 7 * * * * * 17 4 2nd quarter 49.0 70 6 7 * * * * * 14 3 3rd quarter 107.0 75 3 7 * * * * * 12 4 4th quarter 41.1 64 6 12 * * * * * 12 5 1978 Total 237.1 70 5 8 * * * * * 13 4 1979 1st quarter 23.2 48 6 21 * * * * * 19 6 2nd quarter 31.4 65 7 10 * * * * * 15 3 3rd quarter 88.2 73 2 7 * * * * * 14 3 4th quarter 29.1 64 7 14 * * * * * 11 2 1979 Total 171.9 67 4 11 * * * * * 14 3 * Denotes percentages of less than ½ per cent.