Post by Editor on Mar 7, 2013 9:16:52 GMT
Immigrants could be forced to pay a cash bond to enter Britain, to ensure they leave when their visa expires
Will pay ‘entry fee’ to guarantee that they will not be a burden on taxpayers
Cash would be repaid but only if they have not drawn on services
Those already in UK, would be required to put up a sum into 'thousands'
By JAMES CHAPMAN
PUBLISHED: 01:04, 7 March 2013 | UPDATED: 07:42, 7 March 2013
Immigrants would have to put up a cash bond to enter Britain under radical reforms to be unveiled by Theresa May
Immigrants would have to put up a cash bond to enter Britain under radical reforms to be unveiled by Theresa May.
They will be required to pay the ‘entry fee’ as part of a guarantee that they will not be a burden on taxpayers and will leave when their visa expires.
The cash would be repaid when migrants leave, but only if they demonstrate that they have not drawn on services, such as non-urgent NHS care or other elements of the welfare state.
The Home Secretary, who has already cut the number of migrants coming to Britain to its lowest level for almost a decade, wants ‘immigration bonds’ to be the next stage of reforms.
Sources say she hopes to announce a pilot scheme, targeted at ‘high-risk’ individuals from ‘two or three’ countries, starting later this year.
Migrants, or family members already in the UK, would be required to put up a sum running into thousands of pounds.
The 1999 Immigration & Asylum Act gave the Government the right to demand such a financial security from temporary migrants, which can be forfeited if they fail to leave after the expiry of their visa.
However, Mrs May’s bonds would only apply to non-EU migrants, otherwise they would fall foul of European rights to free movement.
The proposals emerged amid Labour attempts to shift its position on immigration, with the party admitting that it should have been more ‘ready to talk about problems’ in the system, adding: ‘That needs to change.’
Last week, official figures showed that the Government’s squeeze on entrants from outside the EU has succeeded in pushing immigration into Britain to its lowest level in nearly a decade.
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.
Stony-faced Theresa May is unamused by jokes about her ambitions to replace Cameron as Tory party leader
Labour let too many low-skilled migrants into Britain, admits Miliband as he promises to give local people 'a fair crack of the whip'
‘We have reviewed all migration routes to the UK and have put in place measures to reduce immigration,’ said a source close to the Home Secretary.
‘The latest statistics are encouraging and show that net migration continues to fall. But our work is not complete.’
The source said Mrs May was examining ‘financial bonds as a further deterrent to reduce non-compliance by high-risk nationalities’.
The measures are being considered as part of a package designed to limit the number of people who come from Bulgaria and Romania when controls are lifted at the end of this year
‘We are looking at a pilot at the end of the year,’ they added. ‘If you’re allowed to come to the UK on, say, a family visit visa, you would have to put down a bond to guarantee that you won’t draw on certain services and to prove that you will leave the country.
‘When you leave, as per the terms of your visa, you can have your money back. If you don’t, we will put the money into an enforcement pot.’
Ministers are also examining separate proposals to reduce ‘pull factors’ for migrants from the European Union.
A triple squeeze on access to the National Health Service, taxpayer-subsidised housing and welfare is being considered as part of a package designed to limit the number of people who come from Bulgaria and Romania when controls are lifted at the end of this year.
The latest proposals will cheer the Tory benches, following confirmation that Mrs May is examining options for reform of human rights law, including withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, to be included in the party’s next manifesto.
Labour examined the idea of making families pay a £1,000 deposit for visiting relatives to ensure they left the UK on time, but eventually backed away from the idea.
Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, has warned that such bonds will ‘antagonise settled communities in Britain and enrage our allies such as India’
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289345/Immigrants-forced-pay-cash-bond-enter-Britain-ensure-leave-visa-expires.html#ixzz2MqNHIHpY
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Will pay ‘entry fee’ to guarantee that they will not be a burden on taxpayers
Cash would be repaid but only if they have not drawn on services
Those already in UK, would be required to put up a sum into 'thousands'
By JAMES CHAPMAN
PUBLISHED: 01:04, 7 March 2013 | UPDATED: 07:42, 7 March 2013
Immigrants would have to put up a cash bond to enter Britain under radical reforms to be unveiled by Theresa May
Immigrants would have to put up a cash bond to enter Britain under radical reforms to be unveiled by Theresa May.
They will be required to pay the ‘entry fee’ as part of a guarantee that they will not be a burden on taxpayers and will leave when their visa expires.
The cash would be repaid when migrants leave, but only if they demonstrate that they have not drawn on services, such as non-urgent NHS care or other elements of the welfare state.
The Home Secretary, who has already cut the number of migrants coming to Britain to its lowest level for almost a decade, wants ‘immigration bonds’ to be the next stage of reforms.
Sources say she hopes to announce a pilot scheme, targeted at ‘high-risk’ individuals from ‘two or three’ countries, starting later this year.
Migrants, or family members already in the UK, would be required to put up a sum running into thousands of pounds.
The 1999 Immigration & Asylum Act gave the Government the right to demand such a financial security from temporary migrants, which can be forfeited if they fail to leave after the expiry of their visa.
However, Mrs May’s bonds would only apply to non-EU migrants, otherwise they would fall foul of European rights to free movement.
The proposals emerged amid Labour attempts to shift its position on immigration, with the party admitting that it should have been more ‘ready to talk about problems’ in the system, adding: ‘That needs to change.’
Last week, official figures showed that the Government’s squeeze on entrants from outside the EU has succeeded in pushing immigration into Britain to its lowest level in nearly a decade.
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.
Stony-faced Theresa May is unamused by jokes about her ambitions to replace Cameron as Tory party leader
Labour let too many low-skilled migrants into Britain, admits Miliband as he promises to give local people 'a fair crack of the whip'
‘We have reviewed all migration routes to the UK and have put in place measures to reduce immigration,’ said a source close to the Home Secretary.
‘The latest statistics are encouraging and show that net migration continues to fall. But our work is not complete.’
The source said Mrs May was examining ‘financial bonds as a further deterrent to reduce non-compliance by high-risk nationalities’.
The measures are being considered as part of a package designed to limit the number of people who come from Bulgaria and Romania when controls are lifted at the end of this year
‘We are looking at a pilot at the end of the year,’ they added. ‘If you’re allowed to come to the UK on, say, a family visit visa, you would have to put down a bond to guarantee that you won’t draw on certain services and to prove that you will leave the country.
‘When you leave, as per the terms of your visa, you can have your money back. If you don’t, we will put the money into an enforcement pot.’
Ministers are also examining separate proposals to reduce ‘pull factors’ for migrants from the European Union.
A triple squeeze on access to the National Health Service, taxpayer-subsidised housing and welfare is being considered as part of a package designed to limit the number of people who come from Bulgaria and Romania when controls are lifted at the end of this year.
The latest proposals will cheer the Tory benches, following confirmation that Mrs May is examining options for reform of human rights law, including withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, to be included in the party’s next manifesto.
Labour examined the idea of making families pay a £1,000 deposit for visiting relatives to ensure they left the UK on time, but eventually backed away from the idea.
Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, has warned that such bonds will ‘antagonise settled communities in Britain and enrage our allies such as India’
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2289345/Immigrants-forced-pay-cash-bond-enter-Britain-ensure-leave-visa-expires.html#ixzz2MqNHIHpY
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