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See other news storiesChanging visitors' visas
18 December 2007
What do you think about government proposals to tighten the rules on visitors' visas?
A consultation began today seeking views on a proposed tightening of the rules on visitors' visas that could fundamentally alter the way people visit Britain.
One of its proposals is to reduce the length of time permitted by the standard tourist visa.
The changes are designed to reflect by the increase in travel noted in recent years, and the way in which people travel.
Applications for visas have increased by about 50% in the last five years. In 2006, 5.7m visitors entered the UK for reasons other than business.
In 2005, a survey by the Office for National Statistics found that only 1% of overseas tourists stayed in the UK longer than three months.
The proposed changes would include:
- reducing the length of time a tourist can stay in the UK to three months from the current six months
- creating a specific business and specialist visa
- requiring some people to make a refundable financial deposit designed to ensure that any foreign national family members visiting them return home before their visa expires
- creating a specific visa for one-off events such as the Olympics
Download the consultation
Changing the way immigration works in Britain
Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said the changes need to walk a fine line between keeping out those who intend to stay and work here illegally, and welcoming legitimate visitors who boost the UK economy.
'Our aim is to make the system more secure, but also to ensure that we maintain the UK’s position as a destination of choice for tourists. In 2006, overseas visitors spent £15.4 billion in the UK with the tourism industry employing 1.4 million people.'
The consultation was launched as the government announced that more than a million fingerprints have now been collected from foreign nationals applying to come to the UK as part of its biometrics visas programme.
Visa applicants in more than 120 countries are required to provide fingerprints if they want to visit the UK for work, study or tourism. Checks run on those fingerprints have identified more than 10,000 visa applicants with questionable applications.
Mr Byrne said the biometric visas and the proposed tougher rules will allow the government more control over who is allowed into the UK.
'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,' he said.
Huge shakeup of immigration system
The proposals in the consultation build on previously proposed new penalties for employers of illegal immigrants, and a proposed licensing system for any employer or university wishing to recruit from outside the EU.
Together with other changes already underway, these actions would revolutionise UK immigration.
Changes already announced include:
- introducing an Australian-style 'points' system for work visa applicants
- creating a unified border force to bring together the Border and Immigration Agency, Customs and UK Visas, and provide a tough, highly visible policing presence at ports and airports
- issuing compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals
Once in place, the new system will allow the UK to continue to reap the benefits of immigration, while also preventing abuse of the system.
