§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are waiting for interview in queues 1,2,3 and 4 at each British post on the Indian sub-continent, and if he will give comparable figures for 1988, 1987 and 1986.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 18 December 1989]: The information requested is given in the table.
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Estimated numbers of applicants in the Indian sub—continent awaiting their first interview for entry to the United Kingdom Number of persons Post1 Category3 Queue 1 Queue 2 Queue 3 Queue 4 Dhaka End September 1986 640 1,900 130 2,700 1987 400 1,800 140 2,600 1988 230 1,600 150 2,100 1989 120 650 120 1,400 New Delhi4 End September 1986 70 210 460 180 1987 40 320 600 90 1988 — 300 400 110 1989 — 260 330 90 Bombay End September 1986 120 450 480 130 1987 560 460 40 140 1988 30 350 480 50 1989 — 420 530 90 Madras5 End September 1987 1— 10 1— 6— 1988 — — — — 1989 — 20 10 6— Islamabad End September 1986 880 610 2,100 740 1987 790 970 2,300 850 1988 1,200 1,600 2,400 1,000 1989 250 2,300 1,700 940 Karachi End September 1986 20 60 100 1— 1987 10 80 190 10 1988 10 180 210 4— 1989 1— 30 20 1— Total Indian sub—continent End September 1986 1,700 3,200 3,300 3,800 1987 1,800 3,600 3,300 3,600 1988 1,500 4,100 3,600 3,300 1989 370 3,600 2,700 2,500 1 5 or fewer 2 There were no applicants awaiting for interview in Calcutta. 3 Queue 1: Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years old, and special compassionate cases (first—time applicants for settlement).
Queue 2: Spouses, and children under 18 years old (first-time applicants for settlement). Queue 3: Fiance(e)s, and other applicants (first-time applicants for settlement). Queue 4: Re-applicants for settlement. 4 Data exclude persons seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom. 5Madras did not re-open for entry clearance work until October 1986. 6 Separate data are not available; re-applicants are included in the data for first-time applicants.
§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have applied over the past year for visas to visit the United Kingdom from British posts on the Indian sub-continent; how many were(a) granted and (b) refused; and what was the average waiting time for (i) interview and (ii) secured interview.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 18 December 1989]: In the 12 months ending 30 September 1989, 176,500 persons in the Indian sub-continent applied for a visa to visit the United Kingdom; during the same period 151,800 such applications were granted, including those granted on appeal, and 19,400 were refused initially. Visit applications were considered within 24 hours.
Those applicants who then required a detailed interview were usually seen within the 24-hour period except in Madras and Islamabad where the waiting time for applicants interviewed at the end of October 1989 was two to three and eight days respectively. The average waiting time over the latest 12 months is not available centrally because of incomplete information.