Colombia’s president says visa restrictions to be imposed on British citizens

Colombia’s president said his state volition enforce visa requirements connected British citizens successful effect to the UK Government’s determination to enforce visa rules connected Colombian visitors.

The changes, which came into unit astatine 3pm connected Tuesday, mean visitors from Colombia volition present request a visa to question to the UK.

Colombian nationals volition besides request a transit visa if they request to walk done the UK to question connected to different country.

On Tuesday evening, Colombia’s person Gustavo Petro said his state volition follow akin rules nether “the rule of reciprocity”.

He wrote successful a station connected X: “If the United Kingdom has reinstated the request for visas for the Colombian people, I person to accidental that by the rule of reciprocity, the Colombian authorities volition inquire for visas from British citizens who privation to travel to Colombia.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the determination was made successful the aftermath of a “significant and sustained” summation successful asylum claims and “high rates of refusals” of visitors astatine the borderline since November 2022.

In a written connection to Parliament, she said: “We are taking this enactment owed to an summation successful the fig of Colombian nationals travelling to the UK for purposes different than those permitted nether visitant rules since the visa request was lifted successful November 2022.

“This has included a important and sustained summation successful asylum claims, and precocious rates of refusals astatine the borderline owed to radical travelling without the volition of visiting for a permitted purpose.”

The emergence successful claims and refusals has “added importantly to operational pressures astatine the border, resulting successful frontline resources being diverted from different operational priorities”, Ms Cooper said, arsenic she stressed the determination had been taken “solely for migration and borderline information reasons”.

“Our narration with Colombia remains a beardown and affable one. Any determination to alteration a visa presumption is not taken lightly and we support the borderline and migration strategy nether regular reappraisal to guarantee it continues to enactment successful the UK nationalist interest”, she added.

The determination means plans to let Colombians to use for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from Wednesday, for question to the UK from January 8, volition nary longer beryllium introduced.

There volition beryllium a four-week, visa-free modulation play for those who person already booked question to the UK anterior to 3pm connected Tuesday, wherever visitors are owed to get successful the UK nary aboriginal than 3pm connected Christmas Eve.