§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Attorney-General what is the length of time it currently takes to complete an appeal against refusal of a visitor's visa from the Indian subcontinent.
§ The Attorney-GeneralStatistics about the time taken to complete individual appeals are not available. However, it is estimated that such an appeal would currently take at least seven months to complete, broken down as follows:
- (i) from receipt of an appeal at posts in the Indian subcontinent to preparation of the Entry Clearance Officer's explanatory statement and dispatch of papers to the appellate authorities in London: three to six months;
- (ii) from receipt in London to dispatch of papers to both parties: up to four weeks;
469 - (iii) from receipt of papers by both parties to issue by each party of a certificate of readiness to proceed: this is in the hands of the parties and times vary from a few weeks to many months;
- (iv) from certification of readiness to proceed to hearing date: up to two months, but longer where parties request adjournments;
- (v) from hearing date to issue of appeal decision: about two weeks.
Following the transfer of administrative responsibility for the immigration appelate authorities to the Lord Chancellor, the working methods and procedures of the authorities, including the question of time limits, are presently under review.