HOME OFFICE News
Release (119/2008) issued by The Government News Network on 25 June 2008
Tough new
sanctions will be imposed on people who fail to ensure family
members visiting from abroad play by the rules, the Government
announced today.
People will have to become licensed to sponsor family members to
visit from abroad under proposed changes to the visa system.
Sponsors will have a duty to ensure that their visitors leave
before their visa runs out. If sponsors fail in their duties, they
face a ban on bringing anyone else over, penalties of up to £5,000
or a jail sentence.
The new sponsored family visa is just one of the firm but fair
changes being made to the short-term visa system which will sit
alongside the Government's new Points Based System introduced
earlier this year. Further proposals announced today include:
* introducing two new business visas for sportspeople and entertainers;
* setting the maximum leave for visitors at six months;
* introducing an appeal system for those coming in under the
family route;
* a new short-term, low-cost group travel visa to promote British
tourism; and
* a visa for people coming to the UK for one-off cultural events
such as the Edinburgh Festival.
Border and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said:
"Now we are introducing an Australian-style points system
for selective migration, it makes sense to tighten visit visas at
the same time.
"The changes I am announcing today will help create a fairer
Britain with fair treatment for those who play by the rules, but
tough action against those who break the law.
"We want the UK to stay open and attractive for both
business and visitors. But at the same time we are determined to
deliver a system of border security which is among the most secure
in the world."
Also today, the Home Office announced plans for two new visitor
routes for sportspeople and entertainers, recognising the
important contribution these individuals make to British cultural
life. Under these new routes the following sportspeople and
entertainers will now be able to enter the UK for up to six months:
* sportspeople and support staff coming for specific events;
* amateur sportspeople joining UK amateur teams;
* professional entertainers coming to the UK to take part in
music competitions;
* amateur entertainers travelling to the UK for a specific engagement;
* professional entertainers coming to take part in a charity show
or where they will receive no fee; and
* professional and amateur entertainers taking part in a
'permit-free festival'.
Welcoming today's announcement, Minister for Sport Gerry
Sutcliffe said:
"If we are going to make the UK the world's best
cultural and sporting nation by 2012 then we need to make sure
that talented sportspeople and entertainers from all over the
world come here to take part in the many sporting events,
festivals, and shows we have on offer. Their presence makes our
country a richer, more inspiring place to live and encourages more
tourists to visit. We want next year to be a golden decade of
sport, so it's good news that sportsmen and women competing
in events here will keep the concessions that they previously enjoyed."
The tourism industry already brings £85 billion into the UK each
year. To encourage even more tourists a new shorter three-month
group visa is being proposed at a possible reduced cost of £44.
Today the Home Office also set out its intention to keep the
maximum leave for tourists at six months and to introduce a visa
that would allow people to come to the UK for big one-off sporting
or cultural events.
All of the changes outlined in today's document follow a
consultation, which ran from December 2007 to March this year. In
total 604 responses were received, the majority of which came from
individual members of the public. Uniquely, this consultation
process included engagement with foreign communities abroad, as
well as UK communities at home.
Liam Byrne said:
"We know that many people have a stake in us getting this
policy right. So we didn't just run an old fashioned
consultation. I travelled around the UK listening to people, and
led my own delegation of community leaders and businessmen to
India to review first hand some of the issues in one of our most
important overseas markets."
All of the changes proposed by the document published today will
sit alongside the Points Based System, which replaced around
eighty different work permit routes with just five tiers. Those
travelling into the UK are locked into one identity through the
introduction of fingerprinting for all visa applicants, a new
hi-tech system for counting people in and out of the country, and
the rollout of ID cards for all foreign nationals.
Notes to editors:
1. The Government Response to the Consultation on Visitors can be
found at the following link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/visitorsconsultationpaper
2. A summary of responses can be found in Annex B of the
Government Response to the Consultation on Visitors.
3. The Consultation ran from December 2007 to March 2008 and
received 604 responses. The consultation document can be found at
the following link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/visitorsconsultationpaper/
4. In March 2006, the Government published a Command Paper
setting out the new PBS, 'A Points Based System: Making
Migration work for Britain'. The new system consolidates the
many complex routes into just five tiers. It is designed to
facilitate entry to the UK of all those wanting to come to work,
train and study. The Command Paper can be found at http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk