New British visa rules spark family protests

Under the proposal, families, according to Agence France Prese (AFP) yesterday, would have to pay a cash bond to ensure that visitors left the country, while the standard six-month tourist visa would be cut in half, to three months.

The bond, which would be refunded when the visa-holder left the country, could be up to 1,000 pounds, according to the plans set out by the Home Office.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said the bond would not be applied in every case, but only where it was considered there was a risk of visitors not going home. “Tougher checks abroad mean we keep risky people out,” he said.

“By next spring we’ll check everyone’s fingerprints when they apply for a visa. Now we’re proposing a financial guarantee as well, not for everyone, but where we think there’s a risk.
But campaigners said the measure risks harming families from former colony countries including Nigeria and India, who regularly have relatives such as grandparents visiting for more than three months, or for events like weddings.

Habib Rahman, head of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, condemned the plans as “discriminatory”.

“It will create hardship for families … This means that only people with fat wallets will be able to bring their families,” he told British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio.
Former minister Keith Vaz, whose Leicester constituency has a large immigrant population, agreed.

“The real problem with the cultural issues that we have here is that people do not come singly for weddings,” he said.
“If you have for example a big wedding in Leicester you are dealing with 20 people coming and therefore if you have to put up a bond of 1,000 pounds for each it is a huge amount of money.”
The plans, contained in a consultation paper, also include proposals for a new business and specialist visa — such as for artists visiting the country — and a visa for one-off events like the London Olympics in 2012.