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Kenyans, Nigerians, Ghanaians Targeted For $4,600 Travel Bond To U.K.

Kenyans, Nigerians, Ghanaians Targeted For $4,600 Travel Bond To U.K.

Kenyans, Nigerians and Ghanaians will have to pay $4,600-plus bonds to travel to the U.K. effective Nov. 1, a move intended to reassure the U.K. government that citizens from those countries will return home, according to a report in eNewsChannelAfrica.

Kenya is the latest African country in a visa spat with the U.K., the report says.

Kenyans planning to travel to the U.K. will have to put down a £3,000 deposit, part of a stringent set of new immigration policies the U.K. introduced in June.

Nigerians must also pay a bond visa, raising concerns over trade and business relations between the U.K. and Africa.

The refundable visa bonds go to the British High Commissioner and act as deposits to encourage travelers to return to their home countries, the report said.

Nigerians condemned the move.

A total of 31,000 Kenyans visited the U.K. in 2012 while 135,000 Nigerians made the trip.

Britain’s Business Minister Vince Cable said the fee sends the wrong message about Britain’s openness to business.

Trade between the U.K. and Nigeria has been growing.

Nigeria is reportedly the fourth largest contributor to tax-free spending in the U.K.