Curbs expected on non-EU tourists to Britain

LONDON (Reuters) - The government is expected to announce that it is looking at halving the time tourists from outside the European Union can stay in the UK from six to three months, a source at the Home Office said on Tuesday.

It is also expected to consult on charging UK families a cash bond of up to 1,000 pounds for every relative visiting the country from outside the EU.

The aim is to reduce the number of visitors who deliberately flout their visa to stay or work illegally in the country.

The proposals are expected to be contained in a consultation paper to be unveiled by Immigration Minister Liam Byrne on Tuesday.

Families whose relatives fail to return home on time run the risk of forfeiting the deposit.

As well as shortening standard tourist visas, the government might introduce special occasion visas for events such as the London Olympics in 2012, the source added.

Applications for visas have gone up by about 50 percent in the past five years and more than two million were issued last year.

The proposals were criticised by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, an independent voluntary organisation.

The plans would "disproportionally discriminate against traditional communities like people from the Indian sub-continent, the Caribbean islands and Africa", a spokesman told BBC radio.

He said they would also create hardship for poorer families.

The measures are part of an overall shake-up of the immigration system. The government has announced stricter rules for allowing people into the country including an Australian-style points-based system from next March which will restrict entry to those who have the skills that Britain needs.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith told the Labour Party conference in September that checks would be toughened up abroad on passengers travelling to the UK.

Conservative leader David Cameron said the measures already announced fall short of what needs to be done and has called for annual limits on migration to Britain from non-EU countries.