The British government’s decision to scrap a controversial £3,000 visa bond scheme for six Commonwealth nations, including India, was welcomed in both India and UK on Monday, though some said that the plans had already hurt relations between the two countries.
“Unfortunately the damage has already been done to our relationship with India,” said Keith Vaz MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee and a prominent Indian-origin Labour politician in the UK.
“During this shambolic process the Home Office has managed to upset a number of foreign governments and confuse millions of potential visitors.”
Though the issue was never formally taken up by the Indian Government, during a recent trip to London , Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma expressed his concerns to the UK Business Secretary Vincent Cable.
The British government announced plans to pilot the scheme, under which certain visitors on six months visas from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ghana and Nigeria would be required to pay a £3,000 returnable deposit before visiting the UK.
The scheme faced stiff opposition, even from within the governing coalition, with Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, warning he would oppose the scheme. Sarah Teather, another Liberal Democrat member of the government, who has announced her retirement from Parliament at the next general election, cited the bond as one of her reasons for quitting.
Indian business organisations, including FICCI, had warned it could hurt investment appetite for the UK.
Then came Chancellor George Osborne’s trip to China, last month during which it was announced, along with a host of business deals, that visa rules for Chinese visitors would be relaxed under certain circumstances.
“That was certainly a factor – that they went all out to win the Chinese over and at the same time applied stricter rules for Indians,” said Harsev Bains, General Secretary of the Indian Workers Association in the UK, a group that campaigned heavily for the plans to be scrapped on the grounds that they were “racially discriminatory.”
“These unfair and discriminatory measures would have alienated settled communities in the UK, making it very difficult for family and friends to visit, but also put a great strain on relations between the UK and India,” said Virendra Sharma, the MP for Ealing Southall in London, welcoming the developments.
FICCI relief
Naina Lal Kidwai, President of FICCI, said the decision was a “relief” to Indian companies that had been considering Britain as a place to invest in.
“It is noteworthy that the UK government has positively considered the apprehensions raised by Indian industry on the issue and has accordingly decided to withdraw the proposed cash bond scheme.”