§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding immigration applications there are at Lunar house from(a) students, (b) family members in the United Kingdom applying for variation of stay, (c) settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts and (d) asylum seekers; and what are the average times applicants in each category might expect to wait before a decision.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe available information is that at the end of June 1993 there were in total about 16,700 cases in the general immigration caseworking groups— including referred entry clearance applications—the majority of which were under consideration or the subject of further inquiries, and about 46,300 cases in the asylum and special cases division.
The estimated average length of time between the receipt of an application and the decision, for cases decided in caseworking groups and the public inquiry offices, in the first quarter of 1993, was one and a half months for students and 20 months for asylum applications. The latter figure reflects the increase in staffing in the asylum and special cases division which has 207W enabled work to proceed on the resolution of older and more complex cases. Information on average waiting times for family members in the United Kingdom for variation of leave and for settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts is not available.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) British nationals and (b) holders of certificates of identity from Hong Kong have been admitted to the United Kingdom in each quarter
Admissions to the United Kingdom of BDTCs and BN(O)s from Hong Kong 1992 19931 Admission category 1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter Year January, February Visitors: Ordinary 7,700 12,300 22,000 7,030 49,100 5,220 Business 1,590 1,470 1,610 1,450 6,120 1,090 Students 490 500 7,290 940 9,230 470 Husbands and fiancés2 10 10 20 10 60 Wives and fiancées2 30 40 50 30 140 20 Parents and grandparents2 10 — 10 — Children2 20 30 100 10 170 10 5 or fewer. 1 Provisional figures. 2 Seeking, or accepted for, settlement in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for(a) single entry and (b) multiple entry visit visas were (i) received, (ii) granted and (iii) refused at each post in the Indian sub-continent, Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines and Jamaica in each quarter of 1992 and the first quarter of 1993; and what was the delay between application and interview for those whose applications were felt to need a
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Applications received for single entry and multiple entry visit visas and the numbers granted, refused and those interviewed on a date subsequent to the date of application in specified posts in 1992 Applications Received1 Granted Refused Number not interviewed on day of application Islamabad single entry 30,036 19,099 8,393 1,389 multiple entry 8,192 6,295 43 Karachi single entry 14,736 11,244 2,256 1,951 multiple entry 8,082 7,516 308 New Delhi single entry 25,879 19,852 2,938 0 multiple entry 11,326 10,764 43 Bombay single entry 17,943 14,661 3,291 0 multiple entry 16,488 15,890 363 Calcutta single entry 3,574 3,346 175 109 multiple entry 3,304 2,950 24 Madras single entry 4,709 4,499 207 0 multiple entry 4,485 4,443 25 Colombo single entry 6,382 4,734 1,054 0 multiple entry 2,037 1,995 15 Dhaka single entry 10,207 7,606 2,751 0 multiple entry 2,985 2,985 0 since January 1992 as (i) persons of independent means, (ii) self-employed persons, (iii) business people, (iv) visitors, (v) students, (vi) husbands and fiancées, (vii) wives and fiancées and (viii) other dependent relatives.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe available information for British dependent territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) from Hong Kong is given in the table. Data on admissions of holders of certificates of identity from Hong Kong are not available.
second or long interview at each of the above posts in (1) June 1992, (2) January 1993 and (3) June 1993 or the nearest available date.
§ Mr. Charles WardleOnly annual data are available centrally for single visit and multiple entry visit visas and the only information available on the delay between application and interview is of the number of people not interviewed on the day of application.
The available information for 1992 is given in the table.
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Applications Received1 Granted Refused Number not interviewed on day of application Accra single entry 11,664 6,901 4,844 0 multiple entry 4,464 4,135 49 Lagos single entry 27,717 15,632 9,959 0 multiple entry 17,715 14,447 724 Kaduna single entry 4,878 3,194 1,509 0 multiple entry 1,913 1,827 42 Manila single entry 10,066 8,970 994 0 multiple entry 2,509 2,314 80 Kingston single entry 2,527 1,897 652 0 multiple entry 103 103 0 1 These will include cases dealt with in a later period and also those subsequently withdrawn.