Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September 2022 to Question 45506 on Visas: Applications, how many family reunion applications have been formally started and not decided; and how many have exceeded (a) the 60-day service standard, (b) six months and (c) one year; and if she will make a statement.

Information regarding processing times for family reunion applications is not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We are working outside the 60 working day service standard, with the majority of applications being considered at over double the service standard timescale.

We are committed to improving and speeding up processing times for family reunion applications.

In the year ending September 2022, 4,786 family reunion visas were issued to partners and children of those granted asylum or humanitarian protection, around a third (36%) fewer than the number in 2019. Additional information can be found here: How many people are detained or returned? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We will always prioritise applications where there is a particularly urgent or compelling reason to do so.