§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it takes on average at the moment for a visitor to obtain entry clearance from the British High Commission offices in various parts of India and Pakistan.
§ Mr. LuceI have been asked to reply.
At Islamabad and Calcutta applicants are usually interviewed on the day of application. At Karachi waiting time for interview is 15 days. At New Delhi only certain priority applicants are seen immediately; otherwise waiting time is seven 701W weeks. Bombay sees most applicants straightaway but where a lengthy interview seems necessary waiting time is 9–10 weeks.
In most cases a decision is taken at the time of interview but sometimes further inquiries are necessary and it is not possible to generalise about how long these may take.