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Members of Parliament, as well as the general public, have sharply criticized the Government of the United Kingdom for introducing a policy that will require Ghanaian visitors to the UK to deposit an amount of �3,000 to serve as a guarantee for their return. Speaking on the floor of Parliament yesterday, some MPs called on the Government of Ghana to act quickly to safeguard the interest of its citizens since, according to them, the policy will not be in the interest of Ghanaians who might want to visit the UK. With this new immigration policy, visitors from 'high risk' countries in Africa and Asia will have to put up the �3,000 cash bond to enter Britain. The money will be kept by the Government if visitors do not return home by the time their visas expire. The policy was forced to be abandoned by the British Government in 2000, following angry reactions from anti-racist and immigration support groups. A pilot scheme, in the offing, announced by British Home Secretary Theresa May, targets people coming to Britain on six-month visit visas from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. According to the Home Secretary, these countries have been picked for their high number of visa applications and what the British Government sees as relatively high levels of immigration abuse and fraud. The bond, to be implemented from November 2013, will only apply to non-EU migrants, whilst a second scheme yet to be introduced will cover countries such as Kenya and Gambia which are considered to be �lower-risk� because UK immigration officials have fewer doubts about migrants' plans to return home. Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, yesterday asked Ghana�s parliament to lay a formal statement before it, to show how Ghana was against the new policy, insisting that the country must stand up to defend its sovereignty. Eugenia Kusi, MP for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, also stated that if nothing was done about the policy, then UK citizens would have to be treated the same way when they want to come to Ghana. Some members of the public, in an interview with the New Statesman, also expressed similar sentiments. According to Yeboah Bismark, a teacher at Osiem in the Eastern Region, if this policy is allowed to be implemented, then Britain should also be made to pay interest on the bond amount of Ghanaians who visit the UK and return home. He proposed: �The shorter your stay, the higher the interest. If this is not done, they would just invest this money to make profit out of us to develop their nation just as they stole our gold to develop their country.� Innocent Kpegah, a carpenter at Lomnava, a suburb of Accra, whose attempt to travel to the UK has been denied on several occasions, said the bond was the final nail in the coffin for him. He said he wanted to go there and make money, adding he would not try going there if he had that amount in his bank account. Sarcastically, Innocent told this reporter, �These British people are not serious. �3,000 for what? That money can expand my business and I would not bother joining any queue for interviews at their embassy. They should take their country.� Hilda Kumahlor, a student of the University of Ghana, who usually visits the UK during the university�s long vacation, branded the policy as outrageous, adding, �Why not all Britons in Ghana being made to pay 30K pounds which will be deposited at the Bank of Ghana, or else they should pack and leave. The British government can do better than this.� She continued, �I am quite sure that France will not impose visa bond on its former colonies. The UK Government should reverse it or else we should pay them back in equal measure.� Peter Diamenu, a national service person with Enterprise Life Assurance, however, asked the Government of Ghana to tread cautiously to avoid any diplomatic row with Britain. �I will urge the government to take the necessary steps and address it in such a way that Ghanaians currently in the UK will not be affected. Britain is one of Ghana�s major donor partners, so we can�t risk doing anything that will break that cordial relationship. Let�s tackle it in a professional way,� he cautioned.