§ Mr. WoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the waiting time for interviews for settlement purposes at posts in(a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Bangladesh. [95947]
§ Mr. VazThe waiting time figures as at the end of September were as follows:
Waiting times for interviews for settlement purposes weeks Post Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 India Bombay 0 4 4 4 New Delhi 0 16 21 25 Pakistan Islamabad 8 40 42 50 Bangladesh Dhaka 17 26 11 49 Notes:
- Queue 1-4 System
- Queue 1—Right of Abode cases and Dependant Relatives over 65;
- Queue 2—Spouses and Children under 18;
- Queue 3—Fiance(e)s and other First Time Applicants; and
- Queue 4—Re-applicants.
The visa sections at Calcutta, Madras and Karachi have a standard single queue for all settlement applications. Their current waiting times are:
- Calcutta: currently no queue
- Madras: 2 weeks
- Karachi: 8 weeks.