New UK visa laws

Visitors from countries outside the EU may only be allowed to stay in the UK for only three months instead of six months, according to the British Home Office, which is responsible for controlling immigration to the UK.
The Home Office is also consulting opinions on whether to charge some British families a deposit of up to £1000 for every relative from outside the EU that visits the UK. Families whose relatives overstay their visa could lose the deposit.
The British government is also considering the idea of introducing special visas for overseas visitors who want to attend special events in the UK, such as the next Olympic games  which are to be held in London, UK, in 2012. The government is also considering visas which are specifically for business trips to the UK.
Applications for UK visas have risen by around 50 % over the past five years, and over two million were visas were issued last year. The government has collected over a million fingerprints from overseas visitors  from 120 countries who applied to visit the UK  to work, study or tourism. By around March 2008 everyone who applies for a UK visa will be fingerprinted.
The proposals were outlined by Immigration Minister Liam Byrne. He said that the deposit scheme was a financial guarantee, and said it would not have to be paid in every case. He said it would only have to be paid  “where we (the government) think there is a risk.”
He added: “Our aim is to make the system more secure, but also to ensure that we maintain the UK’s position as a destination of choice for tourists,” he said in a statement.
Opposition to visa laws
The proposals were criticised by The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, an independent voluntary organisation, criticised the proposals.
The plans would “disproportionally discriminate against traditional communities like people from the Indian sub-continent, the Caribbean islands and Africa,” a spokesman told BBC radio.
He said they would also create hardship for poorer families.
Visa law shake-up
The measures are part of an overall shake-up of the immigration system.
The government has announced stricter rules for allowing people into the country including an Australian-style points-based system from next March which will restrict entry to those who have the skills that Britain needs.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith told the Labour Party conference in September that checks would be toughened up abroad on passengers travelling to the UK.
The Border and Immigration Agency, Customs and UK Visas would work together to provide a unified border force, and more visible policing would be present at ports and airports.
Foreign nationals would have to have ID cards.
Conservative leader David Cameron said the measures already announced fall short of what needs to be done and has called for annual limits on migration to Britain from non-EU countries.