§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were detained under Immigration Act powers for a period of more than two months on completion of a custodial sentence during 1988.
§ Mr. Renton[holding answer 28 July 1989]: Eleven.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for(a) single entry and (b) multiple entry visit visas were (1) received, (2) granted and (3) refused at each post in the Indian sub-continent, Ghana, Nigeria and Jamaica in each quarter of 1988 and the first quarter of 1989; and what was the delay between application and interview for those whose applications were felt to need a second or long interview at each of the above posts in (i) June 1988, (ii) January 1989 and (iii) June 1989 or the nearest available date.
§ Mr. Renton[pursuant to his reply, 28 July 1989, c. 1054]: Information on applications in Jamaica for a visit entry clearance, and separate information on applications in the other countries for single entry and multiple entry visas, are not available centrally. The other information requested is given in the tables. 23W
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TABLE 1 Persons applying for a visit visa to the United Kingdom Number of persons Applications Post Newly received1 Granted2 Refuse initially Dhaka 1988 1st quarter 2,020 1,410 380 2nd quarter 3,030 2,380 450 3rd quarter 2,830 2,100 540 4th quarter 2,450 1,690 560 Year 10,320 7,580 1,940 1989 1st quarter 2,130 1,590 420 New Delhi 1988 1st quarter 7,120 5,740 800 2nd quarter 15,270 13,360 1,140 3rd quarter 11,360 9,380 1,400 4th quarter 7,160 5,720 1,110 Year 40,910 34,200 4,450 1989 1st quarter 8,160 6,600 1,040 Bombay 1988 1st quarter 6,650 6,230 260 2nd quarter 17,050 16,330 320 3rd quarter 10,960 10,210 450 4th quarter 5,850 5,360 400 Year 40,500 38,130 1,430 1989 1st quarter 7,290 6,850 460 Calcutta 1988 1st quarter 880 850 20 2nd quarter 2,810 2,790 40 3rd quarter 2,220 2,190 40 4th quarter 1,00 970 20 Year 6,910 6,800 110 1989 1st quarter 1,110 1,090 20 Madras 1988 1st quarter 1,300 1,280 10 2nd quarter 3,120 3,080 20 3rd quarter 2,740 2,720 30 4th quarter 1,230 1,210 20 Year 8,390 8,290 80 1989 1st quarter 1,830 1,780 30 Islamabad 1988 1st quarter 5,650 4,000 1,480 2nd quarter 10,190 8,320 1,910 3rd quarter 9,030 7,230 1,780 4th quarter 5,410 3,800 1,440 Year 30,270 23,350 6,620
Applications Post Newly received1 Granted2 Refuse initially 1989 1st quarter 6,130 4,700 1,240 Karachi 1988 1st quarter 4,000 3,310 450 2nd quarter 10,360 8,330 850 3rd quarter 6,820 5,940 710 4th quarter 4,330 3,640 690 Year 25,510 21,220 2,600 1989 1st quarter 4,200 3,570 480 Accra 1988 1st quarter 1,430 1,180 160 2nd quarter 2,320 2,010 200 3rd quarter 4,100 3,530 280 4th quarter 2,110 1,720 180 Year 9,970 8,440 820 1989 1st quarter 2,390 1,930 270 Lagos 1988 1st quarter 9,430 8,380 710 2nd quarter 11,750 10,590 700 3rd quarter 17,490 13,940 1,190 4th quarter 11,820 8,940 1,550 Year 50,490 41,860 4,160 1989 1st quarter 9,190 6,240 1,410 Kaduna 1988 1st quarter 1,470 1,280 120 2nd quarter 1,730 1,550 110 3rd quarter 2,250 2,020 140 4th quarter 1,460 1,220 210 Year 6,910 6,060 580 1989 1st quarter 1,070 880 140 1 Including applications subsequently withdrawn. 2 Granted initially or on appeal. 25W
Table 2 Wailing time for persons applying for a visit visa who required a lengthy interview Number of days Waiting time for person interviewed at end of period Post June 1988 January 1989 June 1989 Dhaka — — — New Delhi — — — Bombay 14 — — Calcutta — — — Madras — or 1 — or 1 — or 1 Islamabad 1 1 7 Karachi 7 — — Accra 10 16 . .
Waiting time for person interviewed at end of period Post June 1988 January 1989 June 1989 Lagos 1 1 1 Kaduna — — — — = same day. . . = not available centrally.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the
Home Department how many applications for entry clearance in order to seek asylum in the United Kingdom were (a) received and (b) granted by country during 1988 and the first quarter of 1989.
§ Mr. Renton[pursuant to his reply, 28 July 1989, c. 1054]: Information on applications for refugee status in the United Kingdom made abroad is given in the following table:
Applications for refugee status in the United Kingdom received by British posts abroad and referred to the Home Office for decision1, and grants of refugee status, by nationality(provisional estimates2) Number of persons Applications received Grants of refugee status3 Nationality 1988 First quarter 1989 1988 First quarter 1989 Angola — * — — Colombia * — * — Czechoslovakia * — — — Ethiopia 5 * * * Ghana * — 5 — India * * — — Iran 25 — 15 * Iraq 5 5 * 5 Libya * — — — Pakistan * — — — Poland 5 — * — Romania 5 * — — Seychelles * — — — Somalia — * — * Sri Lanka * — — — Syria * — * — Turkey 15 * — 5 Uganda 10 5 — — Zaire — * — —/ Nationality uncertain * — — — TOTAL 80 15 25 5 1 In addition some applications for refugee status in the United Kingdom, made in India by nationals of Afghanistan, were processed locally by the British High Commission in New Delhi. 1,725 such applications were received in 1988 and 5 in the first quarter of 1989. No grants of refugee status were made during this time; 1,200 applications were awaiting a decision at the end of March 1989. 2 Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with '*' = 1 or 2. 3 Grants in the time periods shown do not necessarily relate to applications made in those periods.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding immigration26W applications there are at Lunar house; what time savings in dealing with applications from (a) students, (b) family members in the United Kingdom applying for variation of stay, (c) settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts and (d) asylum-seekers have been achieved by recent changes in procedures and practice; and what are the average times applicants in each category might expect to wait before a decision.
§ Mr. Renton[pursuant to his reply, 28 July 1989, c. 1055]: At the end of June 1989, there were 34,800 cases outstanding in the immigration caseworking groups and 9,600 active cases in the refugee and special cases unit.
A number of changes in procedure and practice have been introduced recently with the aim of reducing the level of outstanding applications and reducing the time taken to process them. Information on the effects of these changes is not available in the form requested.
The estimated average length of time between the receipt of an application and the decision, for cases decided in caseworking groups and the public inquiry offices, in the second quarter of 1989 was 4.5 months for students and 13.5 months for applicants for refugee status. Information on average waiting times for family members in the United Kingdom for variation of leave and for settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts is not available.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for entry clearance from(a) wives, (b) husbands, (c) fiances, and (d) fiancees made at British posts in (I) New Delhi, (2) Bombay, (3) Calcutta, (4) Madras, (5) Dhaka, (6) Islamabad, (7) Karachi, and (8) Colombo for each quarter since January 1988 to the nearest available date were (a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused; how many refusals at each post were (i) wholly and (ii) partly because the visa officer was not satisfied that the primary purpose of the marriage was not immigration; how many refusals at each post were (i) wholly and (ii) partly because the visa officer was not satisfied that the couple could support and accommodate themselves without recourse to public funds; what was the refusal rate at each post and what percentage of those refusals were (x) wholly and (y) partly on primary purpose grounds.
§ Mr. Renton[pursuant to his reply, 28 July 1989 c. 1059]: Information for the Indian sub-continent for the whole of 1988 and, where available, for the fourth quarter of 1988 and first quarter of 1989 is given in the tables. For information for the first three quarters of 1988, I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 20 December 1988 at columns 179–82. Where the numbers are small, the figures for individual posts have been combined. Information on refusals which takes account of successful appeals is not compiled for periods shorter than 12 months. Corresponding information for Colombo is not available centrally.
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TABLE 1: Spouses and fiance(e)s in the Indian sub-continent applying for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom Number of persons or percentage Husbands Fiances Wives Fiancees 1988 1989 1988 1989 1988 1989 1988 1989 4th qtr Year 1st qtr 4th qtr Year 1st qtr 4th qtr Year 1st qtr 4th qtr Year 1st qtr New Delhi (including Calcutta) Applications received1 50 230 60 70 260 50 120 560 170 60 250 70 Applications granted2 30 140 40 40 120 40 160 560 120 40 200 60 Applications refused initially 40 120 20 50 200 40 10 20 10 20 90 20 Refusal rate (percentage)3 n/a 42 n/a n/a 60 n/a n/a 3 n/a n/a 30 n/a Bombay (including Madras) Applications received1 50 240 70 50 240 100 190 940 370 30 190 80 Applications granted2 40 220 50 50 170 40 230 1,080 190 50 180 40 Applications refused initially 40 140 50 70 220 50 4 20 10 10 40 10 Refusal rate (percentage)3 n/a 34 n/a n/a 49 n/a n/a 2 n/a n/a 19 n/a Dhaka Applications received1 60 280 90 4 20 4 270 1,300 250 4 20 20 Applications granted2 40 110 60 4 10 4 380 1,290 560 10 20 10 Applications refused initially 30 100 60 4 10 4 70 270 70 4 4 4 Refusal rate (percentage)3 n/a 44 n/a n/a 63 n/a n/a 11 n/a n/a 12 n/a Islamabad (including Karachi) Applications received1 300 1,390 460 100 670 110 580 2,770 920 40 230 40 Applications granted2 110 340 140 50 210 50 650 2,610 750 70 250 80 Applications refused initially 230 560 320 200 510 260 30 110 40 4 20 10 Refusal rate (percentage)3 n/a 60 n/a n/a 68 n/a n/a 3 n/a n/a 5 n/a 1 Including applications subsequently withdrawn or lapsed 2 Granted initially or on appeal 3 Applications refused, after taking account of successful appeals, as a percentage of applications decided 4 = 5 or fewer n/a = not available 28W 29W
TABLE 2 Spouses and fiance(e)s in the Indian sub-continent refused' entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom in 1988 Number of persons or percentage Number refused because couple could not accommodate and/or maintain themselves without recourse to public funds: Number refused because primary purpose of the marriage was to obtain admission to the United Kingdom: Primary purpose refusals as a percentage of all refusals: Solely for these reasons Partly for these reasons Solely for this reason Partly for this reason Solely on primary purpose grounds Partly on primary purpose grounds New Delhi (including Calcutta) Husbands 10 10 90 10 85 9 Fiances 5 10 150 30 79 15 Wives 5 5 10 5 53 5 Fiancees 5 10 30 20 30 25 Bombay (including Madras) Husbands 4 5 100 5 90 3 Fiances 5 10 150 10 90 54 Wives 5 4 10 4 48 4 Fiancees 5 5 20 5 49 5 Dhaka Husbands 5 20 60 20 67 22 Fiances 4 5 10 5 2100 210 Wives 10 10 10 10 6 4 Fiancees 4 4 5 4 3 3 Islamabad (including Karachi) Husbands 4 190 300 190 58 37 Fiances 5 130 300 130 67 29 Wives 5 5 5 5 6 1 Fiancees 5 5 5 5 229 27 Total Indian sub-continent Husbands 10 220 540 220 67 27 Fiances 10 150 610 170 75 21
Number refused because couple could not accommodate and/or maintain themselves without recourse to public funds: Number refused because primary purpose of the marriage was to obtain admission to the United Kingdom: Primary purpose refusals as a percentage of all refusals: Solely for these reasons Partly for these reasons Solely for this reason Partly for this reason Solely on primary purpose grounds partly on primary purpose grounds Wives 20 10 40 10 12 3 Fiancees 5 20 50 20 36 17 1 After taking account of successful appeals. 2 Percentage based on fewer than 15 applications refused. 3 Percentage not calculated for 5 or fewer applications refused. 4 Nil. 55 or fewer.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for settlement by wives and children in (i) Dhaka and (ii) Islamabad were(a) received, (b) granted, (c) refused, (d) deferred at first interview, (e) lapsed and (f) outstanding and awaiting first interview for each quarter since the beginning of 1988.
Wives and children applying for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom1 Post Applications Newly received Granted2 Refused initially Referred or de-ferred3 Withdrawn or lapsed Awaiting first interview at end of period Dhaka 1988 4th quarter 1,490 1,780 420 490 400 3,500 1989 1st quarter 1,410 2,220 470 780 470 2,600 Islamabad 1988 4th quarter 860 890 90 840 90 2,100 1989 1st quarter 1,200 1,110 90 840 170 2,100 1 Including persons considered for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in the United Kingdom 2 Granted initially or on appeal 3 Referred to Home Office for decision or deferred for further inquiries.