§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current average time taken by him to determine an application excluding asylum-related cases by a person with limited leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for further leave. [92846]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe time taken to determine an application for variation of leave to remain will depend on the complexity of individual cases. It is not possible, therefore, to give an average time to deal with such cases. Applications which can be dealt with as fast track cases748W (currently about 40 per cent.) are at present being determined within about four weeks of the date of application. More complex applications may require lengthy examination including further inquiries and it is not possible to estimate how long it would take to determine such applications.