Nigerians to Pay £3,000 to Enter UK

Britain is planning to force visitors from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries whose nationals are deemed to pose a “high risk” of immigration abuse to provide a cash bond before they can enter the country, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Sunday.

The report noted that from November, a pilot scheme would target visitors from the three countries plus Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ghana.

Visitors aged 18 and above would be forced to hand over £3,000 ($4,600, 3,500 euros) from November for a six-month visit visa.
They would forfeit the money if they overstay in Britain after their visa has expired.

Initially, the scheme would target hundreds of visitors, but the plan was to extend it to several thousands.

According to the report, the move by Home Secretary, Theresa May, is designed to show that Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party was serious about cutting immigration and abuses of the system.

The populist United Kingdom Independence Party had been encroaching on the Conservatives’ traditional core vote in recent months.

Cameron wants annual net migration down below 100,000 by 2015.
“This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain,” May was quoted as saying.

“In the long run we’re interested in a system of bonds that deters overstaying and recovers costs if a foreign national has used our public services.”
A Home Office official said the six countries highlighted were those with “the most significant risk of abuse.”

Last year, about 296,000 people granted six-month visas were from India, 101,000 from Nigeria, 53,000 from Pakistan and 14,000 each were from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.