asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a register of, and a quota for the admission of, dependants of immigrants already admitted for settlement in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will now introduce a register of immigrant dependants;(2) if he will now introduce an immigration quota.

We are considering these matters in the light of the recent recommendation of the Home Affairs Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dependants have been given entry clearance for each 1,000 husbands or fiancés given leave to enter in each of the last 10 years.

The statistics available concerning grants of entry clearance to dependants cannot be related to the numbers of husbands and fiancés given leave to enter in any particular year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how it is ascertained that the marriage referred to in paragraph 117 of the immigration rules 1980 was entered into primarily to obtain settlement in the United Kingdom; what proof is required that the parties have met; how it is ascertained that the marriage has been terminated; and if he will list any means of terminating a marriage other than the conclusion of divorce proceedings;(2) how it is ascertained that one of the parties to a marriage in terms of paragraph 117 of the immigration rules 1980 no longer has any intention of living permanently with the other as his or her spouse.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what actions are taken to ascertain whether marriages are entered into primarily for immigration purposes;(2) what actions are taken to ensure that parties to a marriage have met before consent is given to entry clearance.

A husband or fiancé overseas is interviewed in every case before an entry clearance is granted. In many cases his wife or fiancée here is also interviewed. An application has to be made in every case before a husband is granted settlement, and he and his wife will be interviewed wherever there is cause to doubt the bona fides of the application. Home Office staff and interviewing officers, who are experienced in assessing applicants, take into consideration not only the statements of the applicant, his spouse, and of third parties, but also the applicant's immigration history and other relevant information to establish whether the requirements in the rules are satisfied. A marriage may be terminated by annulment as well as by divorce. If the marriage has not been terminated but the parties have separated the husband will be disqualified from remaining under subparagraph (f) of paragraph 117.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people are employed by the Home Office and police upon checks of abuses of paragraph 117 of the immigration rules 1980;(2) how many people were removed from the United Kingdom for failing to comply with the requirements of paragaraph 117 of the immigration rules 1980, specifying the numbers in respect of each subparagraph;(3) how many fiancés entered for the purposes of marriage in 1980 and 1981 in terms of the immigration rules 1980 paragraph 116; how many fiancés were removed from the United Kingdom for failing to marry within three months; which checks are made to ensure that the marriages take place; and how many people are employed by the Home Office and police upon such checks.

Home Office staff and police officers are not allocated specifically to the investigation of claims to remain under paragraphs 116 and 117 of the 1980 immigration rules, but last year immigration officers carried out a total of more than 10,000 investigations—which may include home visits as well as interviews—in cases where a person had applied for entry clearance or leave to remain. A large number of these investigations concerned applications by men based on their marriage or intended marriage.The numbers of men admitted as fiancés for the purpose of marriage are published in the annual control of immigration statistics. In 1980 and 1981 there were 1,900 and 2,000, respectively, some of whom were admitted under the previous rules, by virtue of transitional provisions in the 1980 immigration rules. No extension of leave is granted to a fiancé unless he produces documentary evidence that the marriage has taken place, and he and his wife may also be interviewed. If a fiancé does not make an application for an extension of leave within three months of his arrival he becomes an overstayer. If no application is made by a husband for leave to remain within 12 months of his arrival he becomes an overstayer. An overstayer is subject to normal procedures for tracing people who are here in defiance of immigration control and liable to deportation. Separate figures are not available on the number of fiancés removed

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for entry to the United Kingdom from the Indian Sub-continent on the basis of being a spouse or potential spouse, have been investigated since 20 February on the basis that (a) the marriage was primarily for immigration purposes, (b) the parties had not met or (c) the United Kingdom partner was subject to a degree of coercion;(2) how many applications for entry to the United Kingdom from the indian Sub-continent on the basis of being a spouse or potential spouse have been turned down since 20 February on the basis that

All such applications are examined in order to see that the immigration rules are satisfied. Records are not kept centrally of the reasons for refusals of entry clearance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what actions are taken to ensure that the United Kingdom partner to a marriage or proposed marriage, with a potential spouse or spouse from the Indian Sub-continent, has not been subject to duress or coercion by the family or community in which that partner lives; and how many entry clearances have been refused on this ground.

An entry clearance will not be issued to a husband or fiancé if the entry clearance officer has reason to believe that one of the parties has no intention of living permanently with the other. The entry clearance officer for failing to marry within three months or the number of men removed for failing to comply with the provisions in paragraph 117 of the rules.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for entry to the United Kingdom from the Indian Sub-continent on the basis of being a spouse or potential spouse, have been made since 20 February;(2) how many spouses have been given leave to enter from the Indian Sub-continent since 20 February 1980; how many applications have been made; and how many applications have been turned down.

The available information is for calendar quarters and is given on the following table. Refusals of leave to enter at the ports are recorded by reason for refusal and not by category of attempted admission.will base his judgment on an interview with the applicant, and may arrange for the sponsor in the United Kingdom to be interviewed. Lack of consent is occasionally a reason for refusal of an entry clearance, but I regret that separate figures are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of marriages since 20 February with previously non-entry cleared partners from the Indian Sub-continent have been found not to subsist one year from the date of the marriage; how many persons are involved; and how many spouses have subsequently been deported.

The information required is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal or invalid immigrants have been deported in each of the last 20 quarters, listing the numbers under each of the three main reasons for deportation and other reasons, also including the total in each case.

Quarterly figures relating to persons who have been deported from the United Kingdom under sections 3(5)(a), 3(5)(b) and 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971 are available only from July 1978. The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations have been carried out in each of the past five years with regard to travel agents believed to be involved in the arrangement of bogus marriages (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) on the Indian Sub-continent.

The immigration service has conducted three major investigations in the United Kingdom in the past five years into organised schemes of abuse of the rules on marriage. None of these concerned travel agents. There has been no comparable inquiry in the Indian Sub-continent. All applications for entry clearance or leave to remain are examined individually to establish that they comply with the rules.