Bonded UK visas

The bond scheme is quite obviously discriminatory and needs to be re-examined by the UK.

The controversial proposed bond condition requirement for some UK visa applicants from six countries — including Pakistan — is, on the face of it, exceedingly discriminatory. The scheme, which the UK says is a pilot one and may later be extended to other visa categories as a means to prevent overstaying, applies to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Ghana, all of which are either in South Asia or Africa. Not surprisingly, protests have already been made by a number of the countries, though we have not heard one from Pakistan.

The question we ask is quite what the UK is thinking of. Tens of thousands of people from this country travel to the UK annually and the bond conditionality does nothing to improve relations with the nations to be discriminated against. What it will do is inhibit travel by perfectly legitimate visitors — including tourists, who may not have the increased amount of money they will now need to travel to the UK — while it is far from certain how far the measure will work to prevent overstays. In its defence, the UK says the bond will apply only to selected individuals picked out on the basis of risk — but this again raises issues of discrimination and bias.

The entire issue needs to be re-examined by the UK. The bond scheme is quite obviously discriminatory, will create considerable hardships for travellers and pointedly targets six countries. The message behind this is clear; it is not an especially savoury one and the UK would do well to consider what impact it is having on its standing in the eyes of the world. It is clear this impact will be a negative one, raising also questions of bias and racism. This could so easily have been avoided, with the bond condition likely to simply further harass those travelling for a variety of reasons. Perhaps, they would be best advised to seek other destinations.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2013.

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