§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of asylum claims received a decision within two months in the last six months. [75314]
§ Beverley HughesThe latest available information relates to October 2001 to March 2002, for which 68 per cent. of new substantive asylum applications made in that period were decided and served within two months.
§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the countries from which the Government will not as a matter of course accept asylum applications. [75332]
§ Beverley HughesThere is no list of countries from which the United Kingdom will not accept asylum applications.
There are provisions in the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Bill to introduce a list of countries from which the starting presumption is that asylum claims will be clearly unfounded. However, there will continue to be individual consideration of those claims.
§ Mr. GodsiffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of each country from which a visa is required applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications in 2001; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before the visas expired; and how many applied(i) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (ii) for political asylum [76148]
§ Beverley HughesThe available information is given in the attached table. The information on grants of settlement includes persons who entered the United Kingdom with an entry clearance leading to settlement; and the data on asylum seekers includes those applicants who had not previously applied for entry clearance.
Entry clearance data for 2001 by nationality is not yet available. Data for 2000 was published in the Command Paper Control of Immigration Statistics United Kingdom 2000 Cm 5315, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Information is not available on the number of persons who return to their country of nationality before the leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom expires. Information is not available on the number of holders of visas for temporary purposes who subsequently apply for asylum or for settlement.
616W
Grants of settlement and applications for asylum for nationals of countries or territories which require visas, 2001 Nationality Grants1 Applications for asylum2,3 Afghanistan 1,790 9,000 Albania 160 1,065 Algeria 725 1,145 Angola 220 1,025 Armenia 30 95 Azerbaijan 60 105 Bahrain 15 4— Bangladesh 4,005 500 617W
Grants of settlement and applications for asylum for nationals of countries or territories which require visas, 2001 Nationality Grants1 Applications for asylum2,3 Belarus 75 80 Benin 5 10 Bhutan 5 50 Bosnia 1,425 50 Bulgaria 290 120 Burkino Faso 5 10 Burma (Myanmar) 65 100 Burundi 210 615 Cambodia 5 5— Cameroon 140 370 Cape Verde 5— 4— Central African Republic 4— 5 Chad 5— 30 China 1,460 2,390 Colombia 495 360 Comoros 5— 5— Congo 110 520 Croatia 325 35 Cuba 90 15 Democratic Republic of Congo 465 1,395 Djibouti 25 5 Dominican Rep 45 6— Ecuador 90 245 Egypt 395 45 Equatorial Guinea 5 5 Eritrea 130 620 Ethiopia 410 610 Federal Republic of 2,450 3,190 Yugoslavia Fiji 30 5— Gabon 10 5 Gambia 265 65 Georgia 40 130 Ghana 2,280 200 Guinea 25 105 Guinea-Bissau 5 10 Guyana 185 5 Haiti 5 5— Hong Kong, holder of C1 or D1 25 5— India 7,005 1,850 Indonesia 200 20 Iran 1,185 3,415 Iraq 1,205 6,705 Ivory Coast 165 280 Jordan 170 30 Kazakhstan 45 40 Kenya 890 310 Kuwait 15 10 Kyrgyzstan 10 10 Laos 5 4— Lebanon 245 175 Liberia 105 115 Libya 305 145 Macedonia 90 745 Madagascar 5 4— Maldives 5 4— Mali 5 5 Mauritania 50 5 Mauritius 365 20 Moldova 30 445 Mongolia 5 145 Morocco 570 35 Mozambique 15 5 Nepal 170 640 Niger 10 5 Nigeria 4,940 870 North Korea 4— 5— Oman 5 4—
Grants of settlement and applications for asylum for nationals of countries or territories which require visas, 2001 Nationality Grants 1 Applications for asylum 2.3 Pakistan 11,160 2,860 Papua New Guinea 10 4— Peru 145 15 Philippines 1,295 15 Qatar 5 5— Romania 350 1,415 Russia 1,010 455 Rwanda 165 540 Sao Tome and Principe 5 4— Saudi Arabia 40 5 Senegal 30 10 Sierra Leone 720 1,930 Slovakia 405 60 Somalia 7,195 6,465 Sri Lanka 2,305 5,510 Sudan 500 390 Surinam 5 4— Syria 145 105 Taiwan 160 5— Tajikistan 5 5 Tanzania 260 80 Thailand 1,175 10 Togo 30 100 Tunisia 180 25 Turkey 2,440 3,700 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 50 6— Turkmenistan 5 5 Uganda 675 475 Ukraine 390 440 United Arab Emirates 20 5— Uzbekistan 30 15 Vietnam 160 400 Yemen 355 170 Zambia 330 20 Stateless/nationality unknown 330 330 1 Excluding persons given indefinite leave to enter 2 Excludes dependants 3 Provisional data 4 Nil 5 Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 (1 or 2) 6 Not available