£3,000 visa bond plan being reviewed – UK

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria,
Dr. Andrew Pocock, has said the British
government is reviewing its plan to
introduce a £3,000 visa bond scheme.
He also said while there were security
concerns in Nigeria, they were not
overwhelming in many respects and could
be managed.
Pocock said this on Wednesday when he
visited the Nigerian Stock Exchange to
ring the closing bell, and to discuss ways
in which more British companies could be
encouraged to invest in the nation’s
capital market.
Reports had emerged earlier this year
that the British government was planning
to implement a new scheme under which
some visitors from some Commonwealth
countries, including Nigeria, would be
asked to pay a £3,000 cash bond in
return for visitor visas that allowed them
to stay in the UK for up to six months.
“In the long run, we are interested in a
system of bonds that deters overstaying
and recovers costs if a foreign national
has used our public services,” an
unnamed Home Office official had been
quoted as saying in June.
The development had resulted in an
outcry by nationals of the affected
countries with the Nigerian government
calling on its British counterpart to
renounce the policy.
However, the British High Commissioner,
after ringing the closing bell at NSE in
Lagos told journalists that, “We have
made it very clear to our government in
London that there is concern about this.
So, this is being reviewed and considered
in London as we speak now.”
Pocock, who said visas were issued to
125,000 Nigerians every year, added, “If
we decide that this will become a policy
we will tell, firstly then Nigerian
government and secondly, the Nigerian
people so everyone has all the
information they need. This is not a major
threat to Nigerians coming to the UK; that
I can guarantee.”
According to Pocock, the scheme will not
be a threat to Nigerians because even if it
is implemented it will affect only a
fraction of Nigerians who apply for UK
visas.
He also clarified that, “The visa bond, as
it is being called here, is not a £3,000
charge for a British Visa. That is not the
case, it is not going to happen now and it
is not going to happen in the future. Visa
fee, which is what you pay for a visa, will
not go to £3,000 or anywhere near it.”