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- Latest Notices
UK cuts visa price for Chinese tourists
UK cuts visa price for Chinese tourists -Effect from 3 March. For
more information please check the Press Release page.
Tough new laws to tackle visa cheats
Visa cheats who try to access to the UK by using false documents
or deception will from today face a ten year ban. Applicants who
have previously breached UK immigration laws by staying in the
UK illegally or working without permission will also be banned
from coming to the UK.
The visa service welcomes over 2 million people a year to the
UK, and delivers first class customer service to genuine applicants.
The tough new measures target the minority of individuals who
try to abuse the rules.
All applicants for a UKvisa are required to provide fingerscans
as part of the application process. This identifies if they have
previously broken the rules in the UK or have made an application
in a different name. Developments in risk assessment and forgery
identification have also made it far easier to uncover the cheats.
These developments are good news for the majority of travellers.
By quickly identifying who the high risk applicants are, UKBA
is also able to quickly identify and welcome legitimate travellers.
The British Governement is committed to a firm but fair migration
system. It openly encourages and welcomes newcomers, travellers
and visitors who want to work hard, play by the rules and who
enrich the UK culturally and economically. But it will hold newcomers
to account for their actions if they break the rules - whether
that is overstaying their visa or attempting fraud or forgery.
Detail
From 1 April, we are changing the Immigration Rules to prevent
anyone who has previously broken our immigration laws, (e.g. worked
illegally, overstayed for more than 28 days, come here illegally
or used deception in a visa or other application), from coming
to the UK for a fixed period.
Applicants who have used deception (used a false document, lied,
withheld information) in a previous application will be banned
from the UK for ten years.
Applicants who have breached immigration laws in the UK will be
banned from coming back to the UK for a lengthy period. The length
of time will depend on how the individual left the UK after
his or her breach of the law- i.e.:
• 1 year if he or she left voluntarily at his or her
own expense;
• 5 years if he or she left voluntarily at public expense;
and
• 10 years if he or she was removed or deported.
We are making these changes for two main reasons:
• So those who break our immigration laws face a clear
sanction; and
• To give those who are currently here illegally an
incentive to leave of their own accord- because those who
do will be kept out for a much shorter period than those whom
we have to remove.
Q&A
Q: Isn't it rather draconian to exclude people for such a long
time?
A: No.These people have broken this country's immigration laws
and cannot complain if we hold this against them if they apply
to come to the UK.
Q: Will there be any exceptions to the new Rules
A: Yes, the new rules will not apply to people who are currently
in the UK illegally and who go home before 1 October. These rules
will also be subject to our human rights laws. So if it would
breach an applicant's rights under the European Convention on
Human Rights to exclude him from the country (e.g. if it would
breach his right to family life), we would not apply the new Rules
to him.
Q: Can I appeal against the ban?
A: No, not as such. You can only appeal if there is a right of
appeal for the category in which you applied e.g. there is a full
right of appeal for family visits but not for non-family visits.
But all applicants will have limited rights of appeal under the
Human Rights Act or Race Relations Act.
Q: Can I still apply for a visa if I am banned from the UK?
A: Yes but your application will automatically be refused. No
refunds will be given.
Q: How will I know how long I am banned from the UK for?
A: The length of the ban will be stated in the letter given to
you when you are refused a visa.
Q: Will I get a visa once the ban is over?
A: You will still have to satisfy the other requirements of the
immigration rules.
Q: Why are you imposing this change retrospectively- i.e. on
applicants who may have broken the law years ago?
A: The changes have been introduced to co-incide with the introduction
of the Points-Based System (PBS)- part of the biggest shake up
to our immigration system in over 40 years.
PBS is based on the principle of structured decision-making using
objective criteria. However, the old Rules were rather subjective,
as whether a person should be excluded because of a previous immigration
breach depended wholly on the caseworker��s discretion.
The old General Grounds For Refusal were not therefore really
suitable for PBS. However, we had to ensure that the new grounds
applied to breaches that took place before they came into force.
Otherwise, previous offenders would be able to come back to the
UK freely. That is because we will have scrapped the old rules
that allow us to refuse a migrant because of his or her immigration
history, and because there will be no ��intention to leave�� test
in PBS.
Q: According to your guidance, deported criminals can apply
to come back after ten years, even if they have committed really
serious offences. How can you justify treating someone who has
been refused for submitting a false document in a visa application
as harshly as you would a murderer or rapist?
A: We do not accept this analogy. Deported criminals are, in principle,
excluded from coming back forever, though they can currently apply
to have their Deportation Orders lifted after a period of up to
ten years.
Q: Why are you reducing the period of exclusion for people
who left voluntarily? Surely they are all offenders and should
be treated the same way?
A: We wish to give those who are here unlawfully an incentive
to go home of their own accord, rather than putting us to the
expense of detaining and removing them. We believe that a shorter
period of exclusion will do this.
Q:So does that mean that any illegal immigrant can simply go
home and come back in after a year (or straightaway if he goes
before 1 October)?
A: No.Applicants will still need to meet the specific requirements
of the Immigration Rules they are applying under even after their
exclusion period has passed. For example, a former overstayer
applying to come here as a visitor will still need to convince
us that he or she intends to leave the UK after the visit.
- From 29th October 2007 UKBA will be launching new application
form. New forms are available online as well in the visa application
Centres, British Embassies or High Commissions.Visa application
centres will continue to accept the old forms until 2 November
2007.
- From 25th October 2007 all visa applicants, irrespective
of nationality, will have to apply in person to a Visa Application
Centre (VAC) and have their fingerscans and digital photograph
taken.
The Visa Application Centres in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing
will be closed to new applications on 19th October until 24th
October inclusive. They will reopen on the 25th October 2007.
Any applications submitted after 17th October will not be
processed until 25th October
- The domain names assigned to identify UK Visa Application
Center (UKVAC) website are the only domain names officially
and legally held by UKVAC. UKVAC will not be liable or responsible
in any manner whatsoever for the information released from
the websites identified by any other domain names not held
by UKVAC.
- Applicants from Hunan province should submit their applications
to the UK Visa Application Centre either in Guangzhou, Shenzhen
or Fuzhou. Applicants from Hubei province should submit their
applications to the UK Visa Application Centres in Wuhan,
Jinan or Beijing.
- With effect from 01 April 2007, no additional service charges
will be collected for the submission of applications.
- Please be advised that all private passport holders are
requested to sign their passport before submitting with their
application to the Visa Application Centre.
- A change in the law that came into effect 21st December
2006 means that an applicant who holds a British Passport
will no longer be able to claim a Certificate of Entitlement.
Anyone applying for a Certificate of Entitlement should be
aware that the Entry Clearance Officer would make checks with
UK Passport Issuing Authorities before issuing a Certificate
of Entitlement.
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