Immigration Solicitors

A pilot immigration scheme due to start this month has been scrapped by the government, after proposals to charge visitors from some Asian and African countries for visas prompted a backlash.

The scheme involved migrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ghana and Nigeria paying a £3,000-cash bond for a six-month visa to the UK.

The proposal caused a storm in the UK and overseas, even though the bond was refundable and was intended to prevent visitors overstaying their UK visas. The countries the bond applied to are considered to be “high risk” for visa abuse by the UK government.

Government plans to tackle immigration currently include fining employers who give jobs to illegal immigrants, asking those who rent out residential property to check tenants’ immigration status – and making it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain UK driving licences or even open bank accounts, both of which can be used as proof of identity for obtaining services such as Housing Benefit.

The government is keen, however, to attract students from India and Asia to study at British universities and colleges – and to develop existing trade ties with India and Asia.

The climbdown on cash bonds for visas follows the recent outcry over advertising vans introduced by the Home Office, warning illegal immigrants to “go home or face arrest”.

The vans have now been banned as a result of the backlash and 60 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, which launched an investigation.

In pilot areas, the vans resulted in no illegal immigrants returning home as a direct result of having seen a van – and only one illegal immigrant is thought to have left the UK as a result of the scheme, after reading about the “go home” vans in a national newspaper.

The proposal to charge cash bonds for UK visas to some immigrants may also have deepened the rift between the Conservative party and its coalition partner the LibDems.

LibDem leader Nick Clegg was initially receptive to the idea of the visa bonds, but lack of support among his party resulted in a change of heart about the plans. Mr Clegg said he would only offer his support if the plans were introduced in a non discriminatory way.

However, some business leaders in India called the plans discriminatory and “unfortunate”.

It is reported that the visa bonds were also opposed by the Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, as well as the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The coalition government is struggling to find ways of tackling immigration in the run up to the forthcoming 2015 General Election.

All three main political parties are facing a challenge from UKIP, which has called for restrictions on further immigration and an immediate referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

In October, the government appointed an adviser tasked with recovering monies owed to the NHS by foreign nationals who had received treatment in UK hospitals.

Sir Keith Pearson will advise the Department of Health on recovering costs from the governments of foreign nationals who receive free NHS treatment.

From 1 January 2014, the UK labour market will also be open to Bulgaria and Romania and as yet there are no clear figures on how many newcomers from these countries will arrive in Britain in the hope of finding employment and a better standard of living.

Duncan Lewis’ immigration solicitors can advise on all aspects of asylum and immigration. Please contact our asylum and immigration team on 020 7923 4020.



http://uk.news.yahoo.com/britain-scraps-immigration-bond-plan-outcry-coalition-split-154443521.html


http://news.sky.com/story/1163202/immigration-visitor-bond-plans-ditched

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23632096