§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will tabulate the numbers of persons subject to immigration procedures at London airport (Heathrow) in the years 1984, 1985 and the estimate for 1986, together with the numbers of related civil servants employed each year.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe number of passengers subject to immigration control, excluding European Community nationals, admitted to the United Kingdom at Heathrow airport was about 4.4 million in 1984 and 4.9 million in 1985. In addition, about 7.2 million in 1984 and 7.3 million in 1985 British and other European Community nationals were admitted. Corresponding estimates for 1986 are not available. The number of immigration service personnel in post at Heathrow on 31 August was 575 in 1984, 587 in 1985 and 654 in 1986.
§ Mr. Kaufmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence is normally required by his Department to establish proof that a person is a resident of the United Kingdom for purposes of paragraph 56 of the immigration rules, HC 169 of 1983.
§ Mr. WaddingtonMost passengers who are settled in the United Kingdom are able to produce to the immigration officer on return from a visit abroad a passport which confirms that the holder has previously been given indefinite leave to enter or remain and has not been away for more than two years. In the absence of such evidence the immigration officer would seek to satisfy himself by questioning the passenger about his previous residence, by examining any documentary evidence produced or by referring to the Home Office file.
§ Mr. Kaufmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions his Department has issued to immigration officers in connection with nationals of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka returning to the United Kingdom as residents after visits overseas, in cases where the journey overseas was undertaken before 15 October.
§ Mr. WaddingtonImmigration officers have been instructed that citizens of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who return to the United Kingdom after 15 October 1986 do not require a visa if either:
- (i) they are settled in the United Kingdom and are returning within two years of departure; or
- (ii) they are returning within a period of limited leave which has been granted with an endorsement which applies section 3(3)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971. (These will generally be people in the United Kingdom for a long term purpose such as work or study.)
§ Mr. Kaufmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice in connection with the statement of change in Immigration Rule, Cmnd. 9914, has been issued by his Department to nationals of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka intending to return to the United Kingdom as residents after visits overseas.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI have placed in the Library a copy of a comprehensive information leaflet about the extension of visa requirements to citizens of Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, which also covers the changes in the visa arrangements for citizens of Sri Lanka. The leaflet includes an explanation of the exemptions from the visa requirement when people who are settled in the800W United Kingdom, or who are here for a long-term purpose such as work or study, make trips abroad; and advises how people who are exempt may obtain a passport endorsement confirming this. The leaflet has been sent to a number of organisations which represent and offer advice in the minority communities and copies can be obtained from the immigration and nationality department of the Home Office.