£3,000 Bond Fee Not Yet a Policy, Says UK Envoy

British High Commission to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock

The British High Commission to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, Wednesday said the proposed £3,000 tourist bond would not be a threat to Nigerians going to the United Kingdom (UK), even as he said the British government had not taken any final decision on the proposal.

Pocock spoke on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos, during a visit to the management of the exchange.

The British envoy, who rang the bell to bring the day’s trading on the Nigerian bourse to a close, also declared that the £3,000 was not a visa fee and should not be considered to be a visa charge that was being imposed on Nigerians.

Britain had last June announced  the £3,000 cash bond in return for visitor visas, which would affect six commonwealth countries that were considered “high risk” tourists to the UK.

Apart from Nigeria, other countries are: Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The policy, however, had been condemned, in very strong terms, by governments of the affected countries, especially Nigeria and India.
There have been indications that the proposal would be implemented as from November.

However, speaking on the development, Pocock said the proposal had not become a policy and it was not a visa charge.

“It is not a visa charge. No Nigerian will be required to pay £3,000 for visa. Secondly, it  is not a policy yet because it has not been decided. And even if it is decided, it will apply to only tiny fraction of the 150,000 Nigerians that apply for visa every year. This means that the effect will be minimal,” he said.

The British envoy added that  if his government decides  that the proposal would become a policy, the Nigerian government and its people would have the necessary information in that regard.

“If we decide that it will become a policy, everybody will have all the information. The proposal will not be a  major threat to Nigerians coming to the UK. That I can guarantee,” Pocock said.

In the proposal, some visitors from the six countries would be asked to pay a £3,000 cash bond in return for visitor visas that allows them to stay in the UK for up to six months.

The six countries are said to have accounted for more than half a million UK visa applications last year.

Nigeria, through the immediate past Foreign Affairs Minister, Olugbenga Ashiru, had expressed displeasure over the policy, which he described as discriminatory.
Ashiru had told Pocock that the move would “definitely negate” the two country’s commitment to double trade by 2014.

Culled from Thisday