The UK’s interior minister has threatened to penalise countries that refuse to readmit criminals and failed asylum seekers who are repatriated from Britain.
Priti Patel said that under proposed changes to the Nationality and Borders Bill, which may be passed this year, people applying from such countries could be forced to wait longer to have visa applications processed.
This will include the ability to suspend visas, impose a £190 ($257) surcharge on applications to visit Britain or to lengthen the time it takes for visas to be processed.
She said The Gambia could be the first nation to be affected, having accepted only four criminal returnees in the past 12 months.
Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Cambodia and Vietnam will also face sanctions in response to their records on accepting deportees.
The hardline home secretary has been angered by foreign prisoners remaining inside British jails at significant cost to the taxpayer.
“Countries around the globe must work with us to take back their own nationals if they abuse our hospitality by committing crimes,” she told The Sun newspaper on Sunday.
“However, some countries do not co-operate on returns and so we will impose visa penalties on countries who refuse to take criminals back.
“We rightly take back British citizens who commit crimes abroad and other countries do the same.”
Official figures show the UK has 10,882 foreign offenders who have been released from jail but not returned to their home countries. Ten years ago, the figure was 4,000.
More than 6,000 failed asylum-seekers receive state welfare payments but the Home Office has struggled to deport them owing to reluctance by their home nations to readmit them.
Britain may also waive some immigration restrictions on Indian citizens.
The move is reportedly being considered by the International Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who will host trade talks with India this month.
She is understood to be ready to make an offer to New Delhi that would give Indian citizens status similar to that of Australians, who have the right to live and work in Britain for three years.
The visas, which cost about £1,400, could be reduced in price to entice Indians to sign up to the deal.
Neither the US nor the EU has a trade agreement with India, whose GDP stands at more than $2 trillion.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Record breaker
- The most total field goals made in NBA history, as well as the most consecutive games scoring 10 or more points
- The only player in NBA history to reach 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists
- Four-time regular season MVP and four-time NBA Finals MVP
- Six-time NBA All-Defensive selection. Rookie of the Year in 2004
- The most All-NBA selections with 21 in a row, including a record 13 first team selections
- The most consecutive All-Star selections with 21
- The only player to play alongside his son; Bronny James was chosen by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
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MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
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