Entry charges mooted for overseas migrants coming to Britain

Emigrants arriving in the UK may be forced to pay entry charges, which will be reimbursed on leaving, provided they have not used Britain’s NHS services.

A financial bond payable on entry is the latest scheme to act as a deterrent to risknationalities.
In addition, according to a source close the Home Secretary Theresa May, migrants’ family members already living in Britain may be billed for a sum exceeding £1,000, again returnable at point of leaving.

Welfare benefits which would result in migrants losing their bond payments include non-emergency NHS treatment and family benefits. The source stated that the entry fee is also aimed at discouraging migrants from overstaying their visas and becoming illegals, with the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 giving the government the right to charge a bond as well as to issue fines to overstayers.

Several countries are classified as high risk, although the UK is forbidden by EU law to impose entry fees on migrants from EU states which are also Schengen members. The moves are part of a push to tighten up on immigration by jobless migrants as well as to dispel the UK’s unwanted reputation as a soft touch.

Meanwhile, the controversy over the expected arrival of floods of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria is slated to be calmed by Germany’s announcement that it will veto an EU vote on Thursday. For nationals of the two states to be allowed free passage to other EU countries, the vote accepting them into the Eurozone needed to be unanimous.

According to a source close to the EU presidency, there will now be no vote and no decision will be taken. Several nations. The source added that many have expressed concerns and reserves about the effect of mass migration from Romania and Bulgaria.