UK visa bond: Indians, 5 others get reprieve

The British government has decided not to go ahead with the proposed visa bond scheme, which would charge visitors from six ‘high-risk countries’ with a £3,000 cash bond upon entering the UK.

That was announced by the Interior Ministry on Sunday.

The visa bond would force visitors from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ghana and Nigeria to pay the bond in deposit form when acquiring a six-month visa. The bond would be returned upon departure, unless the visitor overstayed; in which case the deposit would be forfeited.

“The government has been considering whether we pilot a bond scheme that would deter people from overstaying the visa. We have decided not to proceed," a Home Office spokeswoman said.

The proposal, which was announced in June and expected to unfold this month, was heavily criticized as it was deemed discriminate for its assumption that visitors from these six countries in particular are those with the most significant risk of abuse, a statement reportedly made by a Home Office spokesperson.

The plan had prompted an outcry from government and business leaders in India, with which Britain has been trying to foster a closer trade relationship.

The Nigerian foreign minister, Olugbenga Ashiru, also said in June that the bond scheme was "not only discriminatory but also capable of undermining the spirit of the Commonwealth family".

The Sunday Times newspaper reported on Sunday that the scheme backed by Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives had been blocked by junior coalition partners the Liberal Democrats.

Cameron's government has made promises to cut net migration into Britain below 100,000 a year by the next election in 2015, and several attempted initiatives have been made in that direction.

However, last week the government also abandoned a plan for vans with billboards telling illegal immigrants to "go home or face arrest", after a pilot project met with widespread condemnation.

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