§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for each of the last 24 months, how many 250W visitors have been recorded in the Home Office computer; and what proportion of those who have reached their due date of departure have not yet departed.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe recording of the entry of visitors on the Home Office computer is selective. Only a minority, those passengers who are subject to special conditions, are recorded on it when they enter. The number of visitors whose arrivals were so recorded for each of the last 24 months is as follows:
Month of admission Number of visitors whose arrival was recorded 1985 1986 January 17,900 17,700 February 16,400 17,300 March 21,600 23,100 April 24,000 24,000 May 27,600 28,200 June 34,700 34,000 July 46,100 46,200 August 40,100 39,200 September 31,800 31,200 October 25,400 23,000 November 22,300 18,000 December 24,900 20,400 It is not possible to produce from the computer a complete record of all departures, but none the less it remains a valuable aid to enforcement of the control.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to introduce visas for visitors coming from Nigeria.
§ Mr. Douglas HurdI shall tomorrow lay before Parliament a statement of change in the immigration rules which provides that citizens of Nigeria arriving at a United Kingdom port on or after 1 February 1987 will require visas to enter the United Kingdom unless they are settled here and returning after an absence of less than two years, or they are returning during the period of a limited leave which has been granted for a long-term purpose such as work or study.