Immigrants could be forced to pay a cash bond to enter Britain, to ensure they leave when their visa expires
- Will pay ‘entry fee’ to guarantee that they will not be a burden on taxpayers
- Cash would be repaid but only if they have not drawn on services
- Those already in UK, would be required to put up a sum into 'thousands'
By James Chapman
PUBLISHED: 01:04 GMT, 7 March 2013 | UPDATED: 01:09 GMT, 7 March 2013
Immigrants would have to put up a cash bond to enter Britain under radical reforms to be unveiled by Theresa May.
They will be required to pay the ‘entry fee’ as part of a guarantee that they will not be a burden on taxpayers and will leave when their visa expires.
The cash would be repaid when migrants leave, but only if they demonstrate that they have not drawn on services, such as non-urgent NHS care or other elements of the welfare state.
The Home Secretary, who has already cut the number of migrants coming to Britain to its lowest level for almost a decade, wants ‘immigration bonds’ to be the next stage of reforms.
Sources say she hopes to announce a pilot scheme, targeted at ‘high-risk’ individuals from ‘two or three’ countries, starting later this year.
Migrants, or family members already in the UK, would be required to put up a sum running into thousands of pounds.
The 1999 Immigration & Asylum Act gave the Government the right to demand such a financial security from temporary migrants, which can be forfeited if they fail to leave after the expiry of their visa.
However, Mrs May’s bonds would only apply to non-EU migrants, otherwise they would fall foul of European rights to free movement.
The proposals emerged amid Labour attempts to shift its position on immigration, with the party admitting that it should have been more ‘ready to talk about problems’ in the system, adding: ‘That needs to change.’
Last week, official figures showed that the Government’s squeeze on entrants from outside the EU has succeeded in pushing immigration into Britain to its lowest level in nearly a decade.
The number coming to live in Britain fell by 74,000 in the 12 months to June last year as curbs on students and workers from outside Europe began to bite