New changes to visas times to UK

Tourist visa times 'to be halved' - 18/12/07 by BBC

The government is consulting on new visa restrictions to Visitors to the UK would have to leave after three months instead of the current six under new visa proposals being considered by the government.

Families might also have to pay a financial deposit to ensure relatives from outside the EU whose visit they were sponsoring left the UK on time.
The government said the bond, put out to consultation, was "not for everyone, but where we think there's a risk".

But immigration groups said it would be "unfair" on poorer families.
The proposals are aimed at those who deliberately overstay or work illegally in the UK.
The government has not revealed how much families would be asked to pay to sponsor an overseas visitor, but press reports suggest it could be a £1,000 bond.

'Risky people'
In addition to shortening standard tourist visas, the government might also introduce special occasion visas for events such as the London Olympics in 2012.
VISA PROPOSALS
Cash deposit for visiting family members
Visa stay cut from six to three months
Creating specific business and specialist visas
Creating one-off visa for 2012 Olympics

Q&A: Visitor restrictions
Families oppose visa reform
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, under a new scheme to "export" Britain's borders.
Immigration minister Liam Byrne said: "Tougher checks abroad mean we keep risky people out.
"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."

Cultural events:
Visitors to the EU may be offered a cut price and time-limited visa to visit the UK to encourage group travel, the consultation document says.
The government is trying to deter people to come for family visits - this is unfair
Habib Rahman, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants

It also asks whether sporting fixtures or cultural events, such as regional folk festivals or the Edinburgh festival fringe, should be included in the special one-off visa category.

It says that although 5,750,000 visitors entered the UK for purposes other than business in 2006, the "vast majority" stayed for less than three months.

According to the Office for National Statistics' 2005 International Passenger Survey, only 1.1% of overseas residents visiting the UK as tourists stayed for three months or more.
The visa consultation will run for 12 weeks, until 10 March 2008, on the Home Office website.

Fingerprints
The Conservatives dismissed the government's proposals as a "headline grabbing 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.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Sounds entirely reasonable and no worse than the requirements any other country imposes
Peter Symonds, UK

Send us your comments
"The government is trying to deter people to come for family visits. This is unfair."
Applications for visas have gone up by about 50% in the past five years and more than two 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".
They included a points-based system for economic migrants and the tightening of procedures for people bringing spouses into the country.

Handy tips in dealing with Flooding

The torrential downpours of the past months this year have caused chaos and crisis across the UK. With some parts of England receiving two months' rain in 24 hours, rising floodwaters have left an estimated 250,000 homes under water.

Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of residents have been left without power or clean water. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink"!

So, if you're worried about the effect that invading water could have on your home (owned or rented), then check out these tips, which come courtesy of Nationwide BS, Fool.co.uk & CedezHomes (also water restorers) http://www.cedezhomes.co.uk/ :

1. Don't put yourself at risk. It would be crazy to put your life on the line in a reckless attempt to salvage your sofa from six feet of water!

2. Stay tuned. Keep your eyes and ears open for public announcements, and look out for emergency workers. For example, if the flooding is very bad, then you may be ordered to evacuate your home until it is safe to return.

3. Do not use electricity or gas supplies, as their safety may have been compromised.

4. Don't drink tap water until you've been advised that it's safe to do so.

5. Move essentials and valuables to safety. You should transfer food, clothing and televisions upstairs to limit damage, and move furniture away from the walls.

6. Keep water-damaged furniture and other home contents. Don't dispose of any items of value until authorised by a loss adjuster.

7. Call your home-insurance company at the earliest stage. Many firms provide a 24-hour helpline for policyholders to call for advice.

8. Have your insurance documents handy. Even if you haven't yet been affected by flooding, it's worth checking your policies to ensure that you have adequate cover should the worst happen. One estimate is that these inundations will cost the UK insurance industry around £2 billion, so insurers are bracing themselves for a flood of claims.

9. Perform any emergency repair works that will prevent further damage. However, more elaborate or permanent measures should not be taken without prior approval from your insurer.

10. Alternative accommodation: check whether your insurance company offers this as part of your cover. It's possible that you could be re-housed for weeks, so keep a complete record of any additional spending while you're not living at home.

11. Watch out guttering and rainworks problems. Although much of the recent damage has been caused by rivers bursting their banks, a waterfall from your guttering, if left untouched, could cause water damage to your property.

12. If you have comprehensive car insurance, dig out your policy and check to see what level of cover you have for flood damage. Again, call your insurer's helpline for advice.

13. Uninsured losses: if you don't have home buildings and contents insurance (and around one in four households doesn't), do what you can to reduce the level of your loss. Salvage what you can, without putting your health at risk.

14. Consider hiring your own loss adjuster. In theory, loss adjusters are supposed to be independent mediators, but they are hired by insurance companies and 'he who pays the piper calls the tune'!

15. Keep all receipts and other relevant paperwork safe. You'll need them to support your claim.
Once the floods have subsided, affected residents should begin their clean-up operation by (with the approval of a loss adjuster):

Oiling hinges and locks to prevent corrosion;

Leaving windows and doors open when they're at home to help water to evaporate; and

Removing the floor covering and then washing walls and floors with disinfectant and water.

Call a structural dryer/water damage restorer - eg CedezHomes Ltd has a qualified Water Technician & restorer based in Bedfordshire, UK. Visit our website at www.cedezhomes.co.uk for further contact details. We also offer independent loss assessing and claims management services in addition to our building team.

These bouts of flooding highlight the value of home insurance and car insurance to protect against catastrophe. According to one estimate, a typical flood claim averages between £20,000 and £30,000. Thus, although floods of this magnitude happen only once every few decades, their severe financial impact can leave many people high and dry.

Finally, if you've been baled out by your insurer, then you may find that your neighbourhood is later categorised as a high-risk area.
So, watch out for higher policy excesses or premiums when your next renewal notice arrives. After a big claim, or if your home is prone to flooding, you may find it difficult to find cover elsewhere, so this may be one of those occasions when you're better off sticking with your current provider, rather than shopping around for lower quotes.