UK immigration tax proposed for migrants
15/01/2009 by Liam Clifford
UK visa fees are increasing to include an ‘immigration tax’ that is to be levied on newcomers to help schools, hospitals and other local facilities, cope with the influx of foreigners.
The move is part of the new Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill and will involve a fee, mooted to be as low as £20, being levied against everyone relocating to the UK. The levy will then go towards helping organisations that deal with the impact of immigration, through a ‘transition fund.’
The plans have attracted some criticism from local councils who claim that the proposed fee will not go far enough to raise the money needed to help cope with the extra immigrants. UK immigration costs local councils an estimated £250 million a year, according to government figures.
The Bill may see as many as 250,000 extra immigrants becoming UK citizens each year. Immigrants can apply for settlement after five years and will then be encouraged to apply for citizenship over the following ‘probationary period’ of up to five years.
Immigrants who contribute the most to their local community will be fast-tracked to citizenship under the scheme, while others, such as foreign criminals may have to wait the full five years.
The new UK visa fee is expected to come into force in April 2009.
