Indians to pay Rs 2.7 lakh bond for UK visa

June 26, 2013

From November 2013, Indians above 18 years of age who are planning to visit Britain will have to pay a hefty fee of £3,000 as per the plans finalized by the British home office in a fresh crackdown on immigration abuse.
The scheme will be applicable to visitors from 6 nations which include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana which have been identified as ‘high risk’ nations. The fee of Rs 2.7 lakhs (at the present exchange rate of Rs 90 for a pound) will be over and above all visa costs. It will be refunded if the migrant returns before the expiry of his stay and will be forfeited if he overstays.
Why this step?
According to British home office, the country is following a selective immigration policy which aims to bringing down net immigration and immigration abuse while still allowing the brightest and the best to Britain. This step is in confirmation of Britain’s PM David Cameron pre-election pledge to bring down the annual immigration level to less than 100, 000 by 2015.
Status of Immigration in UK:
Asian nationals accounted for 273,927 (54%) of the 507,701 visas issued in 2012, with India and China each accounting for 15% of the total. The number coming to live in Britain fell by 74,000 in the 12 months to June last year as curbs on students and workers from outside Europe began to bite.
B/w the year ending December 2011 and year ending December 2012, the nationalities with particularly large changes in visas issued were Pakistanis (down 25,841 or 48%), Indians (down 18,365 or 19%), Sri Lankans (down 4,202 or 45%) and Bangladeshis (down 3,175 or 30%).