The Hindu : International : Young and single? Not much of a chance of visa for U.K.

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Friday, Jun 03, 2005

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International

Young and single? Not much of a chance of visa for U.K.

Hasan Suroor

Consulates in India and Jamaica deny visa to people of marriageable age: official report

LONDON: Being young and single may be a qualification in other areas but not if you are an Indian of "marriageable age" and applying for a visa to come to Britain.

According to an official report, British consulates in India and Jamaica have been turning down applications from people who are "young, single and of marriageable age" for fear that they may end up marrying British citizens and settling down in the country.

Number of factors

A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed to The Hindu that it "could be one of the many factors" that went into processing visa applications but denied that people were being refused visas solely on the grounds stated in the report. "No single factor in isolation can be said to be a ground for refusal," she said. Visa officers assessed applications on the basis of a number of factors, none of which could be considered in isolation.

Scathing report

The report, however, is scathing in its criticism of the way rules are reportedly being used by British officials in India and Jamaica to deny visas to legitimate applicants. It says "young, single and of marriageable age" is the wording routinely used for refusing visas there.

"I can only interpret the inclusion of such wording as reflecting a position that it is not desirable that applicants might be given the opportunity to meet British citizens or those settled in the U.K. as this might then lead to marriage," says Fiona Lindsley, an immigration lawyer who compiled the report commissioned by U.K. Visas, a body run jointly by the Foreign Office and Home Office.

She pointed out that in none of the cases, where visa was refused on grounds of the applicant's age or marital status, the visa officer contended that the applicant had a particular person he or she might marry or any particular marriage plans that would make it improbable the applicants would leave at the end of their visit.

Rise in refusal rate

The report, which relates to the working of the visa system in 2003, expressed concern over the sharp rise in the refusal rate, pointing out that it rose to 15 per cent in 2003 compared to 6.5 per cent four years ago.

It said women wishing to meet their British boyfriends were also being refused visas for fear that they might marry and stay on.

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