§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) men and (b) women, were waiting for interview at British high commission offices in (i) Pakistan, (ii) Sri Lanka, (iii) India, and (iv) Bangladesh, to join husbands or wives resident in the United Kingdom, on 1 January. [11695]
§ Dr. Liam FoxThe post-by-post breakdown of applicants awaiting interview in the four countries is as follows:
Post Men Women Bombay 101 211 Calcutta 0 5 Colombo 4 27 Dhaka 540 147 Islamabad 1,024 772 Karachi 32 48 New Delhi 19 99 Total 1,720 1,309 Statistics for Madras are still being prepared. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the longest period of time a person had been waiting for an interview to join(a) their husband and (b) their wife, in the United Kingdom at high commission offices in (i) Pakistan, (ii) Sri Lanka, (iii) India and (iv) Bangladesh on 1 January; and if he will make a statement. [11678]
§ Dr. FoxThe post-by-post breakdown of longest waiting times in the four countries is:
Post Husbands Wives Bombay 6 months 6 months Calcutta 21 days Nil Colombo 1 month 1 month Dhaka 6 months 6 months Islamabad 6 months 4 months Karachi 19 weeks 19 weeks New Delhi 2 months 2 months Statistics for Madras are still being prepared. However, in 1995, the longest waiting time was six weeks for both husbands and wives.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the average time a person has waited for an interview in respect of an application to join(a) a husband and (b) a wife (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) at British high commission offices in (1) Pakistan, (2) Sri Lanka, (3) India and (4) Bangladesh in the last year. [11694]
618W
§ Dr. FoxThe post-by-post breakdown of average waiting times in the four countries is as follows:
Post Husbands Wives Bombay 3 months 3 months Calcutta 10 days Nil Colombo 10 weeks 10 weeks Dhaka 6 months 6 months Islamabad 3.5 months 3.5 months Karachi 18.5 weeks 18 weeks New Delhi 2.5 months 2.5 months Statistics for Madras are still being prepared. However, in 1995, the average waiting time was six weeks.
It is not possible to prepare equivalent figures for applicants already in the UK.