Appeals against the decision of immigration officials to refuse family visas to enter the UK have increased eight fold since charges were abolished by the government in 2002 and are now running at over a thousand a week. They cost the taxpayer £1m a week, says a report from think-tank Migrationwatch. Unlike ordinary visitors, "family visitors" have a right of appeal but the definition of "family" includes first cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces etc. The report notes that there has been a huge increase in applications in recent years. Last year, just three countries - India, Pakistan and Nigeria - produced nearly 200,000 applications between them. Said Migrationwatch Chairman, Sir Andrew Green. 'The government talk up their so-called tough points based system for work permits but leave gaping holes elsewhere. They have ducked the issue of family visitors for years. Obviously, family members should be able to visit relatives in Britain but such visits need to be properly regulated. There is a clear risk that, once here, some of these visitors will stay on illegally knowing that the chance of being removed is remote. Furthermore, in current financial circumstances, it is no longer acceptable that taxpayers should pay the appeal costs for foreign nationals wishing to visit Britain. The definition of a family visitor is so wide that it could include as many as 120 relatives of a middle aged person in Britain. It should be narrowed and charges which the government abolished in 2002 should be re-introduced.' Sir Andrew said that urgent changes were required: a) Fees should be re-instated. There is no reason why the British tax payer should pay the appeal costs of foreign visitors. b) The definition should be substantially tightened, at least until exit controls are in place. In particular, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, and first cousins should no longer be included. This would reduce the number of eligible relatives by up to 68. c) The right to sponsor family visitors should be confined to British citizens. The relatives of others should apply as ordinary visitors. a) In cases of doubt, there should be provision for sponsors to deposit a bond, if they so wished, to guarantee the departure of their relative. Nearly 3/4 of visas under the Points Based System are given to students A new report out today reveals that student visas are a massive loophole in our border controls. Nearly three quarters of visas issued under the Points Based System are given not to workers but students, under a system that is easily abused, badly administered and complex. Far from being “tough and flexible” as the Government claims, the new Points Based System has made a bad situation much worse. The report by Migrationwatch shows that: nearly 1½ million student visas have been issued in the last 8 years. Students also account for a huge number of applications for extension. For example, between 2004 and 2007 they averaged about 140,000 per year[1] Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch said: ‘Once again the Government’s claim that their Points Based System is effective in managing immigration is shown to be worthless. Our report shows that nearly three quarters of the PBS is made up of student visas which are already a gaping hole in our immigration system. ‘We now issue 370,000 student visas a year – almost the entire population of Bristol or Manchester - yet hardly any of the applicants ever see hide nor hair of an Immigration Officer. Student visas have long been a massive loophole in immigration control. The PBS makes a bad situation considerably worse; it is now clear that it has feet of clay,’ he said. [1] Control of Immigration; Statistical Summary 1999-2007, Table 4.2 New research published today reveals the pressure that immigration is placing on the NHS. The research, conducted by Migrationwatch, found that in 2007-8, 605,000 people who arrived from overseas registered with a GP in England and Wales – equivalent to one registration a minute, day and night, throughout the year. This was nearly 100,000 more than the inflow recorded in the International Migration Statistics for England and Wales for the same period. This suggests that short-term migrants (or illegal migrants) have also registered. Only 69,000 of the 605,000 were British people returning from a spell overseas. The number of arrivals from overseas registering has increased by 50% in the past seven years but it is only in the last three years that registrations have exceeded the inflow of migrants. Of course migrants also leave. 333,000 left England and Wales in 2007-8 but this “churn” together with the additional population adds to the strains on the NHS. These GP registration data are not precise as they are not compiled for statistical purposes. If anything, they understate the pressure of immigration on the National Health Service as those migrants who move practices within a year would not show up as arrivals from overseas. Furthermore, young men who make up a large proportion of migrants are known to be less likely to register with a GP than other groups. There are no checks on the entitlement of those who seek to register with a GP, indeed doctors have discretion to register whoever they choose. Five years ago, in May 2004, the Government issued proposals to exclude overseas visitors from eligibility to free NHS primary and medical services. The then Secretary of State promised “to ensure that the NHS is first and foremost for the benefit of residents in this country”. On 20 July 2009, five years later and on the last day of Parliament, the government issued proposals which included “to maintain GP discretion to determine registration to access free NHS primary care medical services along with the established principle that GPs may charge non-residents as private patients”. Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migration watch said: “This amounts to an open door to primary care which can also lead to access to secondary care. The government has been dithering while the NHS has been struggling to cope with the extra numbers resulting from mass immigration. In present financial circumstances it is surely obvious that we do not have the resources to cope with the extra ten million people now officially projected over the next 25 years – seven million as a result of immigration.Press Release
Massive Increase in Family Visitors
January 2, 2010
Appeals Now Cost Tax Payers £1 Million a WeekStudent Visas 'A Massive Hole' in Border Controls as Numbers Top 1.5 Million in 8 Years
1½ million students admitted in just 8 years
No checks on how many leave UK
Role of Immigration Officers severely underminedService under strain as ‘Migrant a minute' registers with an NHS doctor
December22, 2009
Monday, 4 January 2010
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