§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the types of applications which entry clearance officers abroad are instructed must be referred to the Home Department; and if he will publish these instructions.
§ Mr. SainsburyEntry clearance officers—ECOs—are required to refer the following categories of application to the Home Office:
- (i) applications for asylum;
- (ii) applicants who do not qualify for entry under the Immigration Rules, but whose applications reveal special circumstances;
- (iii) applicants wishing to establish themselves in business in the United Kingdom;
- (iv) applications from children coming for adoption;
- (v) applications from certain nationals and individuals.
It is not our policy to publish instructions to ECOs.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the maximum, minimum and average periods between the receipt of a first application for settlement at the post in Dhaka and the decision on whether or not to grant entry clearance.
§ Mr. SainsburyIn Dhaka, as elsewhere, decisions on whether to grant entry clearance may in some cases be made immediately after interview; in others the applicant414W may be asked to submit documentary evidence, following which the ECO may have to make further inquiries, either locally or in the United Kingdom. As each case is sui generis, it is not possible to give the average time taken to reach a decision.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are in force for dealing with entry clearance applications from Iranian citizens(a) in Iran and (b) outside Iran; and what delays can be expected by people applying for (i) settlement, (ii) visits and (iii) studies.
§ Mr. SainsburyIranian nationals must apply for entry clearance at one of our visa-issuing posts outside Iran. There are no separate queuing arrangements for settlement, visits or studies in these posts.
Delays experienced by applicants in any of these categories vary from a few days for some posts in Europe to several months for certain posts in the Gulf and near east which attract large numbers of entry clearance applications from Iranian citizens.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for naturalisation as British dependent territories citizens on the basis of a connection with Hong Kong have been(a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused, for each year since 1988 and to the nearest available date.
§ Mr. MaudeAccording to Hong Kong Government statistics, the number of applications for naturalisation as British dependent territories citizens, Hong Kong were:
1988 1989 11990 No. of applications received 1,016 3,098 3,491 No. of applications approved 1,074 1,098 579 No. of applications rejected 60 73 41 1 Up to end of June.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British dependent territories citizens from Hong Kong have(a) applied for and (b) been granted the status of British national (overseas).
§ Mr. MaudeFrom 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1990, a total of 137,142 applications from Hong Kong British dependent territory citizens for the British national (overseas) passport were received, of which 131,628 were granted. The remaining applications are still being processed.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the present waiting times to first interview for all categories of applicant in each country and at each post in the Indian subcontinent.
§ Mr. SainsburyI refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 26 June,Official Report, column 137.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance on 31 March, or the latest convenient date, at each post in the Indian subcontinent could expect to wait, in each queue, for(a) first interview, (b) referral of the case to the Home Department and the requested information being received by the post, (c) decision after 415W first interview and (d) the explanatory statement prepared by the post in the case of appeal against any refusal to be dispatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Sainsbury(a) I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 26 June; (b) and (c) this information is not available. Processing times vary according to the circumstances of individual cases. (d) Average dispatch times of explanatory statements from receipt of an appeal are, at 6 July:
Settlement Non-settlement New Delhi 16 weeks 12 weeks Madras 12 weeks 4 weeks Bombay 12 weeks 8 weeks Islamabad 6 weeks 4 weeks Calcutta same day same day Karachi 12 weeks 5 weeks Dhaka 12 weeks 6 weeks
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance for settlement at the British post in(a) Manila, (b) Accra, (c) Lagos, (d) Kingston, (e) Nicosia, (f) Cairo, (g) Bangkok, (h) Ankara and (i) Istanbul on 31 March, or the latest convenient date, could expect to wait for (i) interview, (ii) referral of the case to the Home Department and the requested information being received by the post, (iii) decisions and (iv) an explanatory statement prepared by the post in the event of an appeal against a refusal to be dispatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe information required at (ii) and (iii) is not available as processing times vary according to the circumstances of individual cases.
As to (i) and (iv) the position at 6 July was as follows:
(i) interview (iv) referral Manila 12 weeks 3 to 5 months Accra 3 days within 2 months Lagos 4 days 15 weeks Kingston 16 weeks within 2 months Nicosia day of application 1 week Cairo day of application within 2 months Bangkok 12 weeks within 2 weeks Ankara 2 to 3 days within 3 months Istanbul 2 to 3 days within 3 months
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many explanatory statements related to entry clearance appeals were awaiting typing at each post in the Indian subcontinent and in Manila, Lagos and Accra, on the latest available date; how many staff are employed, both full-time and part-time, to type statements; and when he expects any backlogs to be cleared.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe information requested is given in the following table—as at 6 July.
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(a) (b) New Delhi 126 (5) Madras 4 (1) Bombay 28 1 and (8) Islamabad 34 13
(a) (b) Karachi 3 (2) Dhaka 74 5 Calcutta 12 (1) Manila 76 (2) Lagos 28 (3) Accra 2 1 (a) number of explanatory statements awaiting typing. (b) staff whose duties include typing explanatory statements (staff employed on other typing work shown in brackets). It is expected that the backlog at New Delhi will be cleared by the employment of casual typists.