Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 January 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 January 2007. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 January 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Family Indefinite Leave to Remain

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many out of time applications have been received for the family indefinite leave to remain exercise since 31 December 2004; how many such applications have been granted; and what the Government’s policy is on the length of time for which out of time applications will continue to be accepted.

Answer: Information on the number of out of time applications received by the family indefinite leave to remain (ILR) exercise since 31 December 2004 and the number of these subsequently granted ILR is unavailable and would be obtainable only by examination of individual case files, at disproportionate cost.As Beverley Hughes explained in her letter to MPs of 29 October 2003, the family indefinite leave to remain exercise is not an application-based exercise but one in which it is for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to identify eligible families.We requested applications in 2004 to accelerate the process of identifying those who qualified, giving priority to applications submitted before 31 December 2004. Late applications were considered but not prioritised. We believe we have identified all families who might qualify under the exercise but will consider others if they come to light.Information on the family ILR exercise is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:"http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html"

Secondary information