Written question asked by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 October 2009. It was answered by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Monday, 12 October 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum from residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been rejected in each of the last five years.

Answer: Asylum information on residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo is unavailable. However, the number of principal asylum applicants, who were refused asylum at initial decision, from nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo were 1,540 in 2004, 985 in 2005, 470 in 2006, 315 in 2007 and 185 in 2008 (figures are rounded to the nearest five and 2007 and 2008 are provisional).Information on asylum decisions is published annually and quarterly. The latest version was published on 27 August 2009 and is 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/immigration-asylum-stats.html"

Secondary information