§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many husbands of women who are British citizens were granted entry clearance to join their wives in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which records are available;
(2) how many husbands of women who have obtained indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom were granted entry clearance to join their wives in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which records are available.
§ Mr. WaddingtonInformation on the number of husbands in the Indian sub-continent granted entry clearance to the United Kingdom is given in table 8 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, 1983" (Cmnd. 9246) and in table 9 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics, Fourth Quarter and Year 1984" (Issue 5/85). Corresponding information for countries outside the Indian sub-continent is not available.
Information on husbands granted entry clearance in the Indian sub-continent since 1980 under the 1977 immigration rules is not available separately for husbands of women who are British citizens and who are not British citizens respectively. The requirements of the 1980 and 1983 rules specify that the wife must be a British citizen, and entry clearance is granted only very exceptionally to a husband where his wife is not a British citizen.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time taken to
602Wprocess applications from the husbands of women who are British citizens who are seeking to obtain entry clearance to join their wives in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. WaddingtonInformation on waiting times is available only for the Indian sub-continent, where husbands and fiancés applying for entry clearance to the United Kingdom are put in the same queue as non-priority applicants for immediate settlement. The waiting times to first interview for applicants in this "main queue" are given in table 10 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics, Fourth Quarter and Year 1984" (Issue 5/85). Applications are decided at the first interview unless further inquiries need to be made or a refusal is followed by an appeal, in which case the time taken depends upon the particular circumstances of the application.