Fine, jail for UK hosts whose guests overstay

NO VISA POWER: Proposals announced by Britain to regulate visitors and their visas place burdens on British hosts.

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London: New proposals announced by Britain to regulate visitors and their visas place new burdens on hosts, and new responsibilities on their guests. The new rules are to be implemented next year with trials beginning towards the end of this year itself.

The British government has defended its new visa proposals, saying that they are a result of the fact that many Indians who came to Britain simply chose not to return. Now as per the new proposal, special categories who can sponsor visitors will be created. And if their guests do not return in time, the hosts in Britain could face a fine of £5,000 or even up to 14 years imprisonment.

Chairman of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Habib Rehman says, "How can a sponsor be responsible for policing a person who comes here? What if some vistiors come here and do not go back? It's a completely unfair burden on the sponsors and they should not be held responsible for the activities of the visitors coming here."

The direct implication of this new norm will be that Immigration Officials will be eyeing all Indians who are going to meet their relatives suspiciously. Not just that, even Indians in Britain will be under pressure over whether or not to trust their relatives.

Rehman says, "People will suspect their relatives who come to visit all the time. The people living here cannot be held responsible for the character and the circumstances of the people coming to vist. The sponsors here will not be not be ready to give sponsorship unless they are fully convinced."

The British proposals would create two kinds of NRIs - those who can be trusted to invite, and those who can't. And those who do, risk imprisonment if their guests do not go back in time.

Whether they do or not, the whole world of friends and relatives across the two countries will get clouded over by suspicion and doubt if this goes ahead.

The Four Tiers

• Tier 1 is the first of five tiers of the PBS to be rolled out over the next 12 months.

• Tier 2, targeting skilled workers with a job offer and Tier 5, for temporary workers will both come online in the third quarter of 2008.

• Tier 3, which covers low skilled migration routes, will only be used if shortages are identified that cannot be filled from the UK or European labour force, the High Commission said.

• Tier 4 for students will follow in early 2009.

OTHER VISA RULES
	Professionals and highly-skilled persons willing to migrate to Britain will have to apply for visa under the new points-based system.
	The points-based system-Tier 1 (PBS-TO) covers highly skilled migrants, entrepreneurs, investors, and graduate students, replaces the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, the Entrepreneur and Investor schemes and the International Graduates.
	India, Britain's most important market for highly skilled migrants, will be the first country where the new visa regime is being introduced.
	The new system is expected to make the visa process easier for legitimate travellers and tough for those intending to cheat the system of immigration and ensure that unwanted outsiders do not enter Britain and settle there.
	Anybody trying to cheat the system will be banned from applying for a visa for 10 years.
	Under the PBS-TO, visa applicants will need sufficient points to qualify. Points are awarded for objective criteria such as qualifications, previous earnings, age and UK experience.