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Proposed immigration changes in the United Kingdom could affect the outlook of Jamaican immigrants like these.

Deon P. Green, Sunday Gleaner Writer

London, England:

A new immigration pro-posal announced recently to increase citizenship fees and landing charges for visa holders arriving in the United Kingdom (UK) has left Caribbean nationals and non-European residents in Britain worried.

One of their major fears is that thousands of persons who have been living and working in the UK for decades might receive little or no social security benefits.

The Sunday Gleaner has learnt that already, some lobby groups, including the Jamaica diaspora and Facilitator for a Better Jamaica (FFBJ), are examining the proposal and other immigration developments to make an appropriate response and representation.

Fund social benefits

Under the new immigration proposal, immigrants arriving in Britain will be required to pay an extra £20 landing charge on top of their visa fees. Naturalisation fees attract over £700, while it costs £75 for a British passport.

At the same time, there is widespread speculation that there will be additional increases in immigration fees at the start of the financial year in April.

The extra charge is slated to fund schools, hospitals and other social services said to be under stress from an influx of migrants mainly from countries of the European Union. The British government is expected to rake in £15 million a year from the levy.

At the same time, social benefits in Britain are to be linked with citizenship and those who have been denied British passports will lose a wide range of welfare services, including child benefits, housing benefits and income support.

Prisoners who serve time in Britain will automatically lose their rights to British citizenship and the benefits it offers.

Founder of Facilitators for a Better Jamaica (FFBJ) Sylbourne Sydial said his concern was not one of alarm, but one of unease as the new measures being implemented were a "smack in the face of multiculturalism and a shift from the Commonwealth."

"Since the formation of the FFBJ's home office consultation team," he said, "we have seen that these different and new proposals - in the form of increase in fees, reduction in vacation period, £20 landing charges and the many changes in the immigration rules - show very clearly that there is a shift in UK policy towards former Commonwealth nations of which Jamaica is a part."

While a number of Jamaicans and other West Indian nations with whom The Sunday Gleaner spoke are seeking to speed up the process of acquiring citizenship, Jamaican-born journalist, Luke Williams, believes the long-term impact on Jamaica and the Caribbean will be devastating.

"What is happening is demoralising and is exploitation in many forms including financial and brain drain. It's a double-whammy: They (the British Government) are getting extra money from the high fees and putting pressure on those not considered the best, as well as getting rid of those they do not want," he said.

A Jamaican-trained medical doctor (Dr Brown) at the Greater Almond Street Hospital in Central London noted that many West Indian doctors are now looking alternative places to practise their skills.

"Many are looking at places like the US and Canada. Some may even return home as the European Union has opened up and there is an influx of doctors," she said.

A spokesperson for Jamaican High Commissioner to the UK, Burchell Whiteman, said the issues are evolving and that the high commissioner will not comment until definite govern-ment policies are known.