§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the rights of appeal which apply to visitors, settlers and asylum seekers to the United Kingdom and other categories of applicant; and what information he has on the comparable provisions in each EC country;
(2) if he will list the current rights of appeal which apply to visitors, settlers, asylum seekers and other immigration and nationality department categories; and what changes he proposes.
§ Mr. Charles WardlePart II of the Immigration Act 1971 confers rights of appeal against virtually all categories of adverse immigration decisions. The main 763W rights of appeal which apply to visitors and persons seeking to settle in the United Kingdom are against refusal of an entry clearance at a British post abroad; refusal of leave to enter at a United Kingdom port—a person refused leave to enter is not entitled to appeal until he has left the United Kingdom unless he holds a current entry clearance or work permit—and refusal to vary a person's limited leave in the United Kingdom—provided that the application was made during the currency of the limited leave. The rights of appeal available to asylum seekers currently depend on their immigration status at the time of their application.
The Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill contains provisions that would give unsuccessful asylum seekers specific new rights of appeal to a special adjudicator, exercisable while in the United Kingdom. The Bill also provides that persons seeking entry as visitors, students enrolled on courses of six months or less, and prospective students would no longer be entitled to appeal against a refusal of entry clearance, or against the refusal of leave to enter if they do not hold an entry clearance; and that persons refused entry clearance, leave to enter or a variation of leave on the grounds that they do not meet certain mandatory requirements of the immigration rules would also no longer be entitled to appeal.
The Bill does not affect the rights of appeal of persons refused entry clearance for settlement, or in categories leading to settlement; of persons refused leave to enter when in possession of an entry clearance or work permit; or of illegal entrants or persons subject to deportation decisions.
Rights of appeal in other member states of the European Community are a matter for the Governments concerned. I understand, however, that no other member state has a specialised system of immigration appeals.