Sinkinson, left, and Clarke
Vernon Daley, Staff Reporter
THE BRITISH High Commission is giving favourable consideration to waiving visa application fees for returning residents who want to travel to Britain.
Deputy President of the Senate, Navel Clarke, said yesterday that a number of the returning residents had complained to him about being required to pay hefty visa application fees to secure entry to the United Kingdom, where many of them have lived and worked for years.
Senator Clarke said he had a meeting with Britain's Acting High Commissioner to Jamaica, Phil Sinkinson, on the matter and a decision was taken to review the visa fees for returning residents.
"They are giving favourable consideration to it and have decided that it is a very good idea," Senator Clarke said.
According to him, many Jamaicans who have spent years living and working in Britain have created strong ties in that country and therefore travel there on a regular basis. Senator Clarke, who is himself a returning resident, said it was inconvenient for such persons, who wanted to visit their families or secure medical treatment, to be put through the inconvenience of having to pay out hefty sums in applying for visas.
Meanwhile, Opposition Senator Dorothy Lightbourne blasted the government for what she said was its failure to prevent Britain from imposing the visa requirements on Jamaicans.
According to her, the ties between Jamaica and Britain are very deep and therefore the "imposition of this visa requirement is most unfortunate."
She urged the government to explore the possibility of having the British look at granting special visas that would allow holders to go to that country without the impediment of strict periods of time.
This she said would be useful, especially for elderly persons, many of whom have to go to the country on a regular basis to either visit families and friends or to seek medical treatment.
The new visa arrangement announced by British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, more than a week ago was described as necessary to ease the pressure on the UK's immigration system. According to him, some Jamaicans have abused the country's immigration rules, thereby causing great inconvenience to genuine travellers.
Under the new system, Jamaicans can apply for a six-month, two-year, five-year or 10-year visa at fees ranging from $2,900 to $12,000. UK officials say they are hoping that the turnaround time, between dropping off forms and picking them up, will be three working days.
Earlier this week, Bermuda also imposed visa restrictions on Jamaicans, citing the involvement of many nationals in criminal and immigration offences.
