英国将对亚非“高风险”国家游客收取3000英镑入境押金

从今年11月起，英国将试行对来自印度、巴基斯坦、孟加拉国以及尼日利亚的游客收取3000英镑（约合人民币28327元）的入境押金，等他们行程结束离开英国时，押金将被如数退还。英国内政大臣特丽莎•梅表示，此举意在让移民体系更加有选择性，同时阻止人们在签证过期后滞留英国。不过，因为该政策只针对几个“高风险”国家的游客，可能会被指有歧视性；另外，也有人担心印度等国会针对英国游客推出类似的政策作为回应。英国副首相尼克•克雷格对该政策表示支持，他曾在今年3月提出收取入境押金，不过当时他建议的金额为1000英镑。

Tens of thousands of visitors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria will be forced to pay a £3,000 bond to be allowed to enter Britain.

They will only get the money back once they leave the country in a bid to end abuse of the visa system.

Home Secretary Theresa May said the intention was to make the immigration system more ‘selective’ and deter people from ‘overstaying’ once their visitor visa has expired. In the long-term, she hopes to extend the Australian-style bond scheme to also include foreign workers and students.

The idea will be welcomed by backbench Tory MPs, who have been urging the government to take a tougher line on immigration to combat the threat of UKIP.

But it is likely to face legal challenges on the grounds that – because it targets only people from so-called ‘high risk’ countries – it is discriminatory.

There are also fears it may lead to countries such as India making British tourists pay a similar bond.

The scheme will be piloted from November, for people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana. They are being targeted because of the high volume of visitor visa applications and relatively high levels of abuse.

Mrs May said: ‘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.’

Immigration bonds have been repeatedly considered by ministers over the years, but have never been successfully introduced.

Labour abandoned its own plans for a £1,000 bond in 2008 amid an outcry from migrant rights groups.

They claim the policy is discriminatory as it does not apply to people from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the idea was ‘unworkable’ and ‘impractical’.

Mr Vaz, an ex-Foreign Office minister, claimed it would not deter people from trying to stay on after their visas ended, and said the targeted countries would be ‘likely to retaliate’.

The policy has the backing of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. He suggested the introduction of bonds in March, though was proposing the level should be fixed at £1,000.

The move will require a change in the immigration rules but not a vote by MPs.