HC Deb 24 July 1991 vol 195 cc638-40W
Mr. Darling

To 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, (d) Nicosia, (f) Cairo, (g) Ankara, (h) Istanbul, (i) Rabat, (j) Tunis and (k) Algiers on 31 March or the latest convenient date could expect to wait for (i) interview, (ii) referral of the case to the Home Office 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 despatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

As at 18 July the information required at (i), (ii) and (iv) is as follows.

The information at (iii) is not available. Times vary according to the circumstances of individul cases. Many decisions are made on the same day as interview.

Post (i) (ii) (iv)
Manila 10 weeks 3 months 3 months
Accra 5 days 2 months 3 months
Lagos 1 day 3 months 3 months
Kingston 6 weeks 2–4 months 3 months
Nicosia 1 day Depends on complexity of case 3 months
Cairo 1 day 3 months 1 month
Ankara 1–3 days 3 months 3 months
Istanbul 3–5 days 3 months 3 months
Rabat 10 days Depends on complexity of case 3 months
Tunis 2 days Depends on complexity of case 3 months
Algiers 1 day 3 months 3 months

Mr. Darling

To 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 sub-continent 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. Lennox-Boyd

The information requested is given in the following table (as at 18 July):

  1. (a) Number of explanatory statements awaiting typing.
  2. (b) Staff whose duties include typing explanatory statements (staff also employed on other typing duties shown in brackets).

Post (a) (b)
Islamabad 23 12
Karachi 20 (2)
Dhaka 39 5
New Delhi 21 4
Bombay 70 1 and (7)
Madras 3 1
Calcutta 12 (1)
Manila 14 2
Lagos 38 3
Accra 25 1

The preparation and processing of appeal statements is a rolling process and the figures in column (a) do not represent backlogs.

Mr. Darling

To 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 sub-continent could expect to wait, in each queue, for (a) first interview, (b) referral of the case to the Home Office and the requested information being received by the post, (c) decision after first interview and (d) for 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. Lennox-Boyd

(a) As at 18 July 1991 the estimated waiting times for interviews (in months) were:

Settlement—Post
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Islamabad 3 4 6 10
Karachi 3 3 4 6
Dhaka 3 5 6 11
New Delhi 1 4 7 10
Bombay 0 5 10 11
Madras 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Calcutta (days) 10 10 10 10

Settlement queues are organised as follows:

Q1. Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.

Q2. All spouses and all children under 18 years.

Q3. Fiance(e)s and others applying for the first time.

Q4. Re-applicants.

Visitors

  1. (a) Due to seasonal high demand, applicants for visit visas in Islamabad requiring a full interview can expect to wait up to 5–7 days. Elsewhere they are dealt with within 24 hours.
  2. (b) If referred to the Home Office, enquiries concerning applications from any of the posts in the Indian Sub-Continent may take from 1–12 months depending on individual circumstances.
  3. (c) Decisions after first interview are taken within 24 hours in the majority of cases in Indian Sub-Continent posts.
  4. (d) Despatch times of explanatory statements are (at 18 July):

Settlement weeks Non-Settlement weeks
Islamabad 12 4
Karachi 12 4
Dhaka 12 11
New Delhi 12 4
Bombay 8 8
Madras 12 8
Calcutta 4–8 4

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