UKBA stops routine visa interviews

United Kingdom, 22nd November: The UK Border Agency has halted routine visa interviews with overseas applicants.

Failure to interview visa applicants- a threat to UK government’s commitment--This recent step is in response to increased concerns that the overseas applicants facing interviews for UK visas could put into jeopardy the efforts of the UK government to curb the menace of forced marriages among immigrants.

The UK Border Agency(UKBA) had failed to conduct routine visa checks including interviews, said a Labor MP and the chairman of Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz. This is a serious threat to the security and safety of the nation since keeping the borders secure is of foremost importance when it comes to entry of foreigners into the UK, he claimed.

Reintroduce UK routine visa interviews for UK marriage visas--It is quite likely that the UK immigration minister Damian Green will be given instructions by the UK Home Affairs Select Committee for reintroduction of UK routine visa interviews for overseas applicants this week especially for applicants seeking UK marriage visas. Only such a step could help in reducing the incidence of fake or forced marriages in the UK.

Around two years ago, it was mandatory for the UKBA officials to conduct routine interviews for all foreigners coming to the UK.

However, the new rules for UK visas require such routine interviews only for those who are suspected by UKBA officials of playing by the immigration rules. So, the only requirement for those wanting to move to Britain is to provide biometric data including fingerprints. And this is quite risky keeping in view the fact that it could put the safety and security of the UK into a big risk.

UKBA refutes such allegations--Meanwhile, an official of the UKBA refutes any such things saying that the agency does follow a risk-based strategy while admitting foreigners into the UK. He stresses that the UKBA does conduct routine interviews when there is a suspicion of abuse of UK visas to make sure that only genuine individuals are allowed entry into the UK.

He further claimed that all UK visa applicants are made to undergo strict biometric checks not just overseas but even before allowed entry into the UK.

And anyone found to be providing misleading information will be rejected outright by the border agency, he maintained.