Skip to main content

Entry Clearances

Volume 502: debated on Monday 7 December 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) leave to remain, (b) indefinite leave to remain and (c) student visa (tier four) applications have been refused in the last five years. (300921)

Statistics on leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain (settlement) applications refused for the last five complete years, 2004-08, are provided in the following table.

Provisional calendar year totals for 2009 are due to be published in February 2010. The leave to remain refusals total for 2009 will include in-country applications from non-EEA students that have been considered and refused under tier 4 of the points-based system from 31 March 2009.

Provisional leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain quarterly data for the first three quarters of 2009 were published on 26 November in the “Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom—Third Quarter 2009”. Copies are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Refusals of an extension of leave to remain1, 2 and refusals of settlement in the United Kingdom, excluding EEA3, 4 and Swiss nationals, 2004-085

Number of refusals

20043

2005

2006

20074

20086

Main applicants

Refusals of an extension

24,730

27,175

20,175

23,555

21,120

Of which:

Students

6,765

9,535

7,875

9,040

5,365

Refusals of settlement

6,525

6,260

8,365

11,875

7,420

Total main applicant refusals

31,250

33,435

28,540

35,435

28,540

Dependants

Refusals of an extension

2,885

4,130

3,110

4,500

5,165

Of which:

Students

950

1,405

1,355

1,895

1,395

Refusals of settlement

810

750

1,445

1,605

1,925

Total dependant refusals

3,695

4,875

4,555

6,105

7,090

1 Excludes asylum-related decisions and withdrawn applications.

2 Includes reconsideration cases and the outcome of appeals.

3 Includes nationals of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia before 1 May 2004, but excludes them from this date.

4 Since 2007, excludes Bulgaria and Romania who acceded to the EU on 1 January 2007.

5 Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.

6 Provisional figures.