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Cash bond plan for immigrants dropped

LONDON: Protests from South Asian groups have forced the British government to drop a controversial plan that would have required immigrants from outside the European Union to deposit a cash bond of £1000 or more when sponsoring relatives to visit them.

It was intended to make sure that the visitors did not overstay. Under the plan, any breach of rules by them would have resulted in the sponsor forfeiting the deposit.

However, under the revised rules announced on Friday, sponsors would still be held responsible for their visitors’ conduct and could face heavy fines or even jail sentences, if the guests overstayed. They could also be banned from further sponsoring for a specified period.

Anyone wishing to sponsor a relative would be required to apply for a licence. This would involve checks on financial and criminal background. Border and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said the changes would “help create a fairer Britain with fair treatment for those who play by the rules, but tough action against those who break the law.”

The proposal on cash bonds was dropped following protests especially those from the Indian subcontinent, who argued that it would hit poorer families without necessarily deterring illegal immigrants.

Mr. Byrne, who visited India for consultations on the issue, said. “What people said was look, if someone wants to flout the immigration rules they’ll be more than happy to put up £1,000.

“On the other hand, people said for family weddings and so on you’ve got to sponsor all the people and people are just not going to have that kind of money — so what we want to do is have a new system but punish people if things go wrong.”

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