IN A major relief to Indians aspiring to visit or work in UK, the government decided to scrap the visa bond scheme which required overseas visitors to pay a personal cash bond before entering the country.
Visitors would have paid a £3,000 (($4791) cash bond before arrival in the UK – which would be forfeited if they failed to make the return trip.
The aim of the scheme was to reduce the number of people from some “high risk” countries – including India, Pakistan, and Nigeria – overstaying in the UK once their short-term visa had expired. It was scheduled to be implemented on a pilot scale this month.
“The government has been considering whether we pilot a bond scheme that would deter people from overstaying their visa. We have decided not to proceed,” a government spokesman said on Monday (November 4).
The move comes ahead of Prime Minister David Cameron’s third visit in two years to India on November 14.
Cameron will be in India for a day and will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on key bilateral and regional issues. He will then leave for Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on November 15-16.
India had conveyed its serious concern about the scheme to the British government both at the ministerial and official levels.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had also supported India’s stand and threatened to block the proposal.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs committee had also voiced his concern about the controversial bond scheme.
“During this shambolic process, the Home Office has managed to upset a number of foreign governments and confuse millions of potential visitors. This is not the way to fashion a strong and effective immigration policy,” he said.
