§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken following the recommendation of the Home Affairs Committee in its fifth report of Session 1989–90 that applicants for naturalisation should be kept informed of the stage that their application has reached.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe Government undertook in their reply to the report (Cmnd 1368) to issue regularly bulletins on the progress of nationality work. The first such bulletin will issue shortly.
§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are issued to immigration officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom for the questioning of visitors from(a) Poland, (b) USSR, (c) India, (d) Chile, (e) Tanzania and (f) Taiwan.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInstructions are not issued on the basis of nationality.
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§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) naturalisation and (b) registration applications awaiting decision were made (i) before 1 January 1988, (ii) before 1 January 1989 and (iii) before 1 January 1990.
§ Mr. Peter LloydOn 20 March 1991 the number of outstanding applications by date of application was as follows:
Application date Naturalisation Registration Before 1 January 1988 16,351 11,155 Between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 1988 12,912 1,915 Between 1 January 1989 and 31 December 1989 16,756 2,441
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time taken to deal with applications for variation of licence to stay in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe estimated average length of time between the receipt of an application for variation of leave to remain in the United Kingdom and the decision, for cases decided in caseworking groups and in the public inquiry offices in the fourth quarter of 1990, was a little under two months.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time taken to issue explanatory statements by the immigration and nationality department.
§ Mr. Peter LloydRecords are not kept of individual processing times for all explanatory statements but it is estimated that at present the average time taken to prepare and despatch an explanatory statement to the immigration appellate authorities is about six months.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what are the current and projected processing times for applications for(a) registration and (b) naturalisation;
(2) how long the immigration and nationality department takes to determine applications for naturalisation as at 1 March;
(3) if he has set targets for the time that his Department should take to deal with applications for naturalisation.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe average time taken for certificates of registration issued in February 1991 was 24 months and for certificates of naturalisation 36 months. Our objective is to reduce both the level of outstanding cases and waiting time as quickly as possible. The level of arrears is reducing considerably, but I cannot predict when precise waiting times will be achieved.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications on behalf of over-age dependants who have established relationship by means of DNA tests have been(a) considered, (b) granted, (c) refused and (d) are pending under his discretionary policy.
§ Mr. Peter LloydA total of 466 applications involving over-age reapplicants have been reviewed under the terms of the concession announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) on 14 June 1989 at 269W column 461. A total of 108 of these applications have been granted and 358 refused. A total of 159 applications are currently awaiting review under the terms of the 1989 concession.
§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what changes have been made to the length of tiime for which an invitation/sponsorship form approval is valid; when the period of validity dates from; and whether there are variations, by country, in the length of time such approvals are valid;
(2) if he will list the countries from which visitors to the United Kingdom have to fill in an invitation/sponsorship form for approval before being allowed entry into the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIt is open to an entry clearance officer to seek up-to-date confirmation from a United Kingdom sponsor if he wishes to satisfy himself that the immigration rules as to maintenance and accommodation will be met in respect of any national seeking entry to the United Kingdom.