Britain is halting a plan to force visitors from six commonwealth  countries to pay a cash bond of £3,000 (about 750,000), that would deter people from over staying in the country.

Under the plan, visitors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana seeking a six-month British visa would have been mandated to pay a 3,000 pounds cash bond, refundable when they return before the expiration of their visa.

They will forfeit the money if they overstay in Britain after their visa
has expired.

This plan prompted an outcry from the government of the affected countries, making the UK to halt plans on the discriminatory policy..

The then Nigerian foreign minister, Olugbenga Ashiru, said in June that the bond scheme was “not only discriminatory but also capable of undermining the spirit of the Commonwealth family”.

“The government has been considering whether we pilot a bond scheme that would deter people from overstaying the visa. We have decided not to proceed,” a home office official told the AFP.

The London-based Sunday Times newspaper reported yesterday that the scheme backed by Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives had been blocked by junior coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.