Immigration Controls (Hansard, 8 January 2003)

§ Lord Filkin

The Government are firmly committed to maintaining effective immigration controls and ensuring that genuine passengers are able to pass through our ports with the least possible delay.

For some years the number of Jamaican passengers being refused entry on arrival in the United Kingdom has been increasing—nearly 3,500, or 6 per cent, of arrivals last year. The number of Jamaicans who abscond having been given temporary admission is also unacceptably high—more than 150 a month during the first half of this year. These problems create enormous pressures for the Immigration Service but also lead to unacceptable delays and inconvenience for the great majority of genuine travellers from Jamaica. The situation can best be demonstrated by looking at the period leading up to Christmas. During the six weeks to 17 December 2002, 1,233 Jamaican nationals were refused entry at the UK's 12 busiest ports. This represented nearly 20 per cent of all refusals at those ports during that period. The only effective way of easing these problems is to ensure that Jamaican passengers have demonstrated that they qualify to enter the United Kingdom before they embark for this country. In the circumstances we have decided to impose a visa regime on all Jamaican nationals wishing to visit the United Kingdom.

We would want to provide reassurance that the presence of a visa regime should not be a bar to those Jamaican nationals who genuinely wish to visit the United Kingdom. The rules under which decisions are 203WA made are the same whether that decision is made on arrival or before. This visa regime simply allows officials to consider the application before the passenger embarks for the United Kingdom. Providing greater certainty that a person has satisfied the Immigration Rules will also smooth the passage of genuine visitors through the immigration controls, giving advantage to all concerned.