Britain imposes email charge on visas

Visa applicants wishing to contact UK Visas and Immigration by email will be charged £5.48 (Rs. 455.31), as customer enquiries are shifted to a new commercial partner, Sitel UK. This change and others, which include the reduction of languages in which services are offered, and changes to opening hours were needed to “help the government reduce costs and ensure those who benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution,” UK Visa and Immigration reportedly said in a statement earlier this week. Britain’s share of India’s outbound tourist market has halved in the past decade. “We welcome our many visitors from India to the UK but we cannot take their interest in coming here for granted,” Ufi Ibrahim, Chief Executive, British Hospitality Association, was quoted as saying.
“Tourism is a highly price and time sensitive activity. If the visa application process is too cumbersome, demands too much time and the cost of the visa is perceived to be too high, potential visitors are put off and quickly turn to the completion.” Ibrahim contrasted Britain’s falling share of India’s tourism market (which has been growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent) with that of German and France.
(Source-PTI)