UK links India’s no to MoU with strict visa regulations

London, June 19 

The UK government has directly linked the exclusion of Indian students from a list of countries offered easier visa norms to India’s refusal to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the return of illegal migrants. 

Britain’s Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox said the reason India had been excluded from a newly-expanded list of countries from where overseas students can benefit from a more streamlined UK university application process was because the issue of Indian “overstayers” remained unresolved. On being asked if India’s refusal to sign the MoU relating to illegal migrants had resulted in India’s exclusion from an expanded list of countries covering likes of China, Maldives, Mexico and Bahrain, he said it was important to ensure that all issues are looked at on balance.

The Indian Cabinet had approved the so-called MoU on returns to facilitate the deportation of alleged illegal Indian immigrants in the UK to India and vice-versa days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Britain to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in mid-April. The agreement was touted as the centrepiece of the nearly 25 MoUs to be signed between the two countries during the Indian PM’s UK visit.

But India backed out of signing the pact due to reservations expressed by the MEA about Indian agencies being given only 15 days to verify background of an undocumented migrant. — PTI