§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average waiting time prior to gaining permanent admission to the United Kingdom in 1984; and how this compares with each of the last 10 years.
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§ Mr. Waddington:Information for 1977 to 1984 on the waiting time to first interview for persons in the Indian sub-continent applying for entry clearance for immediate settlement in the United Kingdom is given in table 9 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics, Third Quarter, 1984" (Issue 27/1984) and table 5, of "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, 1983" (Cmnd. 9246). 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. Corresponding information for years earlier than 1977, and for countries outside the Indian subcontinent, is not available.