HL Deb 13 February 2003 vol 644 cc134-6WA
Lord Roberts of Conwy

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many immigrants and asylum seekers from Iraq have been allowed into the United Kingdom in each of the past five years. [HL1460]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin): The information available is (i) the number of journeys made to the United Kingdom and (ii) the number of applications made for asylum by Iraqi nationals in each of the years 1997 to 2001 and is given in the table.

Detailed information on general immigration can be found in the Home Office publication, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2001, available in the House of Commons Library and via the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/commandpubs1.html The 2002 edition is due to be published later this year.

Table 1 Nationals of Iraq given leave to enter the United Kingdom, 1997–2001
Number of journeys
of whom:
Total Visitors Passengers returning after a temporary absence abroad Others given leave to enter
1997 7,650 2,920 3,800 930
1998 6,520 2,400 2,870 1,250
1999 6,190 2,880 2,220 1,090
2000 8,050 3,030 2,820 221
2001 8,890 3,240 3,910 1,740
Data rounded to the nearest 10.

Table 2 Applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom by nationals of Iraq, 1997–20011, principal applicants
Total Applications Applied at port Applied in country
1997 1,075 785 290
1998 1,295 1,085 210
19992 1,800 1,385 415
20002 7,475 1,920 5,555
2001P 6,705 2,350 4,350
1 Does not necessarily relate to the year of arrival.
2 May exclude some cases lodged at local enforcement offices between January 1999 and March 2000.
P denotes provisional.
Data rounded to the nearest 5.

Lord Roberts of Conwy

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps are currently being taken to check the bona fides of immigrants and asylum seekers from Iraq. [HL1461]

Lord Filkin

All Iraqi citizens seeking entry to the United Kingdom are required to have visas issued abroad. All have their details checked against the warnings index before a visa is issued and again on arrival.

All asylum seekers are screened in a three-tier process: first, the details of all asylum seekers are checked against the warnings index; secondly, their fingerprints are taken and checked against existing Home Office records and EURODAC and they are photographed. Most asylum seekers will be issued with an asylum registration card.

The third stage, the interview, has different levels of screening which allow for those with acceptable evidence of identity and nationality to be fed into the system while allowing for more in-depth screening interviews for those with little or no credible evidence. Should there be any indication given during any of the processes that someone might be of security interest, the information is quickly passed on to the appropriate agencies.