Britain to Impose deposit of £3,000 ($4,600, 3,500 euros) for Nigeria Visa Seekers & Others

Visitors from some select countries who are over 18 years and above and have the intention of visiting the UK would be required as from November 2013 to cough out over £3,000 ($4,600, 3,500 euros) for a six-month visit visa. This money will be forfeited by the visitors if they overstay in Britain after their visa has expired.

According to reports:

Initially the scheme will target hundreds of visitors, but the plan is to extend it to several thousand, according to the broadsheet’s front-page report. In 2012 296,000 people granted six-month visas were from India, 101,000 from Nigeria, 53,000 from Pakistan and 14,000 each were from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Britain is planning to force visitors from Nigeria amongst other countries whose nationals are deemed to pose a “high risk” of immigration abuse to provide a cash bond before they can enter the country, a report said Sunday.

Home Secretary Theresa May was quoted by the media as saying that Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party is serious about cutting immigration and abuses of the system.

“This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain,” May was quoted as saying. “In the long run we’re interested in a system of bonds that deters overstaying and recovers costs if a foreign national has used our public services.” A Home Office official said the six countries highlighted were those with “the most significant risk of abuse”.