Proposals to cut the time tourists from outside the EU can stay in the UK from six months to three are expected to be announced by ministers.
Proposals to cut the time visitors from outside the EU can stay in the UK from six months to three months have been announced by ministers.
Plans to make UK families sponsor relatives visiting from outside the EU by paying a cash bond are also proposed in a consultation paper.
Families would also have to put down a sizeable deposit to sponsor relatives visiting the UK from outside the EU under plans in the consultation paper.
If the relatives do not return home, the money is forfeited.
If the relatives did not return home, the money would be forfeited.
Campaigners said the plan was "unfair" on poorer families. The Tories attacked it as a "headline grabbing gimmick".
Campaigners said the plan was "unfair" on poorer families. The Tories attacked it as a "headline grabbing gimmick".
The proposals are aimed at those who deliberately overstay or work illegally in the UK.
The proposals are aimed at those who deliberately overstay or work illegally in the UK.
'Headline-grabbing'
'Risky people'
In addition to shortening standard tourist visas, the government might introduce special occasion visas for events such as the London Olympics in 2012.
In addition to shortening standard tourist visas, the government might introduce special occasion visas for events such as the London Olympics in 2012.
Applications for visas have gone up by about 50% in the past five years and more than 2 million were issued last year.
VISA PROPOSALS Cash deposit for visiting family membersVisa stay cut from six to three monthsCreating specific business and specialist visasCreating one-off visa for 2012 Olympics
The Conservatives dismissed the proposals as a "gimmick" and repeated their call for an annual limit on immigration.
The consultation was launched as the government announced that over a million fingerprints had now been collected from overseas foreign nationals applying to come to the UK.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said there was nothing wrong with the proposals in principle.
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said: "Tougher checks abroad mean we keep risky people out.
But he added: "We need to look at the economic basis of this. Clearly poor people will not be able to visit the UK because they won't have a relative here who'll be able to afford to sponsor them."
"By next spring we'll check everyone's fingerprints when they apply for a visa; now we're proposing a financial guarantee as well - not for everyone, but where we think there's a risk.
"Our aim is to make the system both more secure, but also to ensure that we maintain the UK's position as a destination of choice for tourists."
The consultation will run for 12 weeks, until 10 March 2008, on the Home Office website.
'Unfair'
'Unfair'
The Conservatives dismissed the proposals as a "gimmick" and repeated their call for an annual limit on immigration.
Habib Rahman, chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the new measures would discriminate against poorer families.
Habib Rahman, chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the new measures would discriminate against poorer families.
"The government is trying to deter people to come for family visits. This is unfair."
"The government is trying to deter people to come for family visits. This is unfair."
The proposals are expected to be set out in a consultation document to be unveiled by immigration minister Liam Byrne.
Applications for visas have gone up by about 50% in the past five years and more than 2 million were issued last year.
Under a new scheme, visa applicants in more than 120 countries are now required to provide fingerprints if they want to visit the UK.
Global checks
So far checks have identified over 10,000 applicants who have previously been fingerprinted in the UK in connection with immigration cases or asylum applications, the government said.
Those refused entry include an Iraqi citizen who had earlier been refused asylum in the UK under a different identity and a Nigerian citizen who had been jailed for shoplifting under a different identity and deported from the UK.
From spring 2008 the aim is for the biometric checks to be extended to all visa applicants globally.
The government has already announced other changes to the visa system which Mr Byrne described as the "biggest shake-up of the immigration system in history".
The government has already announced other changes to the visa system which Mr Byrne described as the "biggest shake-up of the immigration system in history".
They included a points-based system for economic migrants and the tightening of procedures for people bringing spouses into the country.
They included a points-based system for economic migrants and the tightening of procedures for people bringing spouses into the country.
Market stalls
Earlier, the Sunday Telegraph reported how £36m was paid to failed asylum seekers to enable them to set up businesses back in their own countries.
Since 1999, more than 23,000 migrants have received up to £4,000 each under the voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme.
According to the paper, the funding has enabled people to set up clothes factories or market stalls back home.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said the government was resorting to "bribing them to leave - with the taxpayer picking up the bill".
But the Home Office said the programme - part-funded by the EU - was cheaper than forcibly returning failed asylum seekers which costs £11,000 per case.
Do you have family visiting the UK from outside the EU? What are your thoughts on the possible introduction of a bond? Should tourist visas be limited to three months? Send us your comments using the form below:
Do you have family visiting the UK from outside the EU? What are your thoughts on the possible introduction of a bond? Should tourist visas be limited to three months? Send us your comments using the form below:
