By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : Immigration Minister Liam Byrne will become the first British minister to take an Asian community team to India when he goes on a sensitive official mission beginning Monday.
Byrne’s visit assumes significance as it comes just ahead of planned sweeping changes to Britain’s immigration rules that are expected to impact on many Indians who either have relatives settled in Britain or want to work and settle down in the world’s fourth largest economy.
It also seeks to inject in an entirely new – and unknown – dimension to Britain’s ancient tradition of democratic functioning by extending the domestic process of legislative consultation to citizens of other countries.
Controversial proposals that the British government is currently consulting over include-
– A bond deposit of 1,000 pounds (about $2,000) for people visiting their relatives in Britain.
– Cutting the maximum length of visits from the current six to three months.
– An Australian-style points-based system, awarded on a set of criteria, to replace current work permits.
In a statement, Byrne hinted that the proposals were far from agreed.
“I’m clear our visit visa system is out of date. For many legitimate visitors – especially those who want to see loved-ones, it’s too hard to get back together,” he said.
“Already people are flagging key issues – like reserving bonds for borderline cases only and keeping the time limit for family visas at six months,” he added.
What is particularly interesting is his decision to take an Asian community delegation with him to India to engage Indians in the process of consultation. Although the purpose of team’s visit is being described as “field research” it is clearly an extension of the consultation process – something that is normally reserved for British citizens ahead of legislation.
The consultation stage is key to British parliamentary tradition, and seeks to involve both ordinary citizens – anyone can participate – as well as experts in the formulation of policy.
Accompanying Byrne will be a carefully-chosen multi-party and multi-faith delegation comprising Rami Ranger, chairman of the Indo-British Friendship Society; Conservative councillor Pritpal Singh; Kemal Butt who is a councillor and member of the Muslim Forum of Britain; Ahmed Shazad, who leads the ruling Labour Party’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) wing; Gurpal Gill, chairman of the British Multicultural Forum; and Parmajit Singh Gill, a former MP who is now a councillor for the Liberal Party.
The consultation process, which also includes a series of community events in London and across Britain, runs until March 10.
“I want Britain’s different communities to help me design a system that is slicker and more secure. We’ve never taken this kind of approach to listening on such a set of changes but I think it’s the best way to get the answers right,” Byrne said.
Keith Vaz, Britain’s longest-serving Asian MP and chairman of the parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee, congratulated the government for taking the consultation to Indians.
“I welcome the fact that the minister will be meeting those who are going to be directly affected by the consequence of the changes, and I hope that people in India will engage with him so that we can get a real picture of what people think and feel,” Vaz told IANS.
“This consultation process will result in some extremely important changes. I hope very much that people will take the opportunity to find out first-hand what changes will happen,” Vaz added.
The proposed changes, described by the government as the biggest shake up to Britain’s immigration system in 45 years, have been criticised by some experts as too drastic and unnecessary.
Firstly, these critics say, there is no hard evidence that Indians visiting their relatives settled in Britain stay back at the end of their visit.
Second, they say, the points-based system is too harsh, requiring a work visa applicant, for instance, to have earned 40,000 pounds – more than three million rupees – in the previous year.
Byrne and his team are expected to tour a visa application centre, and meet with representatives from the Indian government, the police, the International Punjabi Society, and multinational companies.
Immigration is a sensitive issue both in Britain and in India. On the one hand the Labour government is under constant attack from political opponents over immigration. On the other, the Indian government has long pressed rich nations such as Britain to lift restrictions on skilled Indians who want to live and work there.