UK visa: Nigerians begin payment of £3,000 bond Nov

 

OUTCRY against its £3,000 tourists visa bond notwithstanding, Britain will commence the scheme in the six listed Commonwealth countries in November, Financial Times report quoted the Home Office as saying.

The Commonwealth countries to be affected by the policy which was announced in June are Nigeria, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The affected countries are considered to be source of “high risk” tourists to the UK.

Some visitors from the six countries, under the scheme, will be asked to pay a £3,000 cash bond in return for visitor visas that allow them to stay in the UK for up to six months.

According to official data, these six countries accounted for more than half a million visa applications in 2012.

There have been outpours of anger by governments of the affected countries, especially Nigeria and India against the policy.

A protest in India last month forced the British Prime Minister David Cameron to declare that final decision had not been taken on the policy, while the Nigerian government asked Britain to renounce the scheme.