Entry Clearances: South Africa

Rosie Cooper
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time for family reunion visas where the application has been made from a UK overseas mission in South Africa was in the latest period for which information is available.

Mr. Woolas
UK Border Agency Customer Service Standards for processing settlement visa applications (which include family reunion applications) are to complete 95 per cent. of applications in not more than 12 weeks (60 working days) and 100 per cent. in not more 120 working days. Processing times for settlement visas at our Visa Application Centre in Pretoria in the last quarter of 2008 were as follows:

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|Settlement (Percentage)|Days|
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|57                     |5   |
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|70                     |10  |
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|81                     |15  |
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|95                     |30  |
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|100                    |60  |
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