- Written by From Hendrix Oliomogbe (Asaba) and Bola Olajuwon (Lagos) (With agency report)
FACED
with rising outrage at its plan to force visitors from Nigeria and
other countries to pay a cash bond of £3,000 ($4,800, 3,500 Euros),
Britain has stopped the move.The Agence France Presse (AFP) Sunday quoted Britain’s Interior Ministry as disclosing the suspension.
The government had been preparing to pilot a scheme requiring visitors from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ghana and Nigeria to pay the deposit for a six-month visa.
They would have forfeited the money if they overstayed.
“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.
Reports in June said the scheme would initially target hundreds of visitors before being extended to affect several thousands.
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 AFP quoted The Sunday Times as reporting yesterday 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 been seeking to show it is serious about a promise to cut net migration into Britain below 100,000 a year by the next election in 2015, amid an electoral threat from the anti-immigrant United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).
But 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.
A Home Office official said in June that the six countries to be targeted by the bond scheme were those with “the most significant risk of abuse.”
Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television in September that he was “absolutely not interested in a bond which becomes an indiscriminate way of clobbering people who want to come to this country.”
Under the now rested visa proposal canvassed by UK’s Home Secretary, Theresa May, but with prodding from British Security agencies, as part of efforts to cut immigration abuses, certain first time visa applicants, deemed as high risk visitors, from five countries would be required to deposit £3,000 bond before they are issued visa.
If the individual overstays his or her visit in the UK, the person will forfeit the £3,000 bond and if caught in the UK will also be deported.
All the affected countries have kicked against the policy and threatened retaliatory actions if UK goes ahead with the policy.
In June this year, the UK High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, was summoned by Ashiru to register Nigeria’s displeasure with the policy.
Also, the National Assembly warned that it would not hesitate to push for discriminatory visa policy against UK citizens if the visa bond policy was allowed to take effect.
It was learnt yesterday that Cameron had halted the discriminatory visa policy back in June because of the uproar it had raised.
More than two million Nigerians are residing in the UK.
Meanwhile, a reliable source at the Nigerian High Commission in London revealed that the initial refusal of the British government to backpedal on the visa bond compelled Nigeria to threaten retaliatory measures.
Ashiru had earlier assured that Nigeria would react appropriately if the policy was eventually implemented.
The source, who is a senior officer of the High Commission but did not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent in London that Nigeria had officially protested to the British government over the policy.
He, however, said that there was no sign that Britain would rescind the decision.
“As a responsible country, we have protested officially against the discriminatory policy to the British government. But from all indications, there is no going back on the policy. We have tried to make them see reasons on the need to review the new immigration policy, but it is like a done deal.
“Don’t forget that Nigeria has threatened to retaliate if the policy is implemented. So, we are only waiting for the implementation and the modalities of the new British immigration policy. But I can assure you that the Nigerian government won’t fold its hands. We would even raise the stake beyond the £3,000 they are asking Nigerians to pay as bond. We are looking at £5,000 as visa bond for UK citizens visiting Nigeria. This is our plan, which is subject to the approval of the Federal Government,” the source said.
No comments:
Post a Comment