According to reports, the N750,000 bond, which will be paid in cash, will serve as a security against foreigners living in the country illegally after the expiration of their visas. Visitors will lose the bond payment only when they overstay their visas.
The UK Home Secretary, Theresa May, was quoted as saying that the bond would go a long way in recovering costs incurred by foreign nationals who enjoy public services in the country when they overstay their visas.
Apart from Nigeria, the pilot scheme of the new policy targets citizens of India, Pakistan, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coming to Britain on six-month visit visas. The countries have been picked for their high number of visa applications and what the government sees as relatively high levels of immigration abuse and fraud, according to the Sunday Times.
May said, "This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain.
"In the long run we're interested in a system of bonds that deters overstaying and recovers costs if a foreign national has used our public services."
The second scheme is scheduled to cover countries regarded as 'low risk" and may later be extended to cover work permits and student visas. About 2.2 million people are granted visas to enter Britain every year while an estimated 101,000 Nigerians were granted six-month visas to
the UK in 2012.
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