Briefings
Immigration: Recent proposals to strengthen visitor visas
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Immigration
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| December 2007 |
The Home Office has recently proposed a series of new measures in order to ensure visitors to the UK comply with the conditions of their visa.
New Proposals
- Possible financial deposit / guarantee to ensure any foreign national family members return home following their visit from overseas
- A reduction in the length of time a tourist can stay in the UK from six to three months
- The creation of a specific business and specialist visa
- The creation of a specific visa for one-off events such as the Olympics.
The consultation was launched as the Government announced that over one million fingerprints have now been collected from overseas foreign nationals applying to come to the UK as part of its biometrics visas programme.
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said:
"Tougher checks abroad mean we keep risky people out. By next Spring we'll check everyone’s fingerprints when they apply for a visa; now we’re proposing a financial guarantee as well - not for everyone, but where we think there’s a risk."
Currently visa applicants in over 120 countries are required to provide fingerprints in order to be granted a visa to visit the UK for work, study or tourism. These biometric checks have identified over 10,000 visa applicants who have previously been fingerprinted in the UK in connection with immigration cases or asylum applications.
UK Visas aim to extend the biometric programme in order to cover all visa applicants globally.
These proposals on visitor visas add to the current proposals on new penalties on employers of illegal immigrants and a licensing system for any employer or college wishing to recruit from outside the EU.
Other new government policy initiatives include
- An Australian style points based system for managing migration
- A unified border force bringing together the Border and Immigration Agency, Customs and UK Visas providing a tougher, highly visible policing presence at Britain's ports and airports
- Compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals allowing the government to know who is here and to what they are entitled.
These measures are part of the biggest reform of the UK immigration system. It is important to ensure compliance with the UK Immigration rules in light of recent reforms and developments.
Mishcon de Reya will be assisting both companies and individuals in interpreting the new provisions and ensuring that they remain compliant. Mishcon de Reya will be sending out regular updates as the new reforms are finalised and will be holding a seminar at our offices in London in early 2008.
IMPORTANT: This update is only intended as a general statement of the new law and no action should be taken in reliance on it without specific legal advice.