Britain warns visa fraudsters of 10-year travel ban

British visa authorities Monday warned visa fraudsters of strong action, including a 10-year ban on visiting the country, after a man was arrested for furnishing false records to secure a visa at the British mission here.

"We welcome genuine visitors, students and workers to the UK and are committed to ensuring the quality and availability of visa services for genuine applicants. We will, however, not tolerate abuse of the UK visa system and we have a zero tolerance of fraud," a statement quoted Thomas Greig, regional director, Central Asia, South Asia and Turkey, UK Visas and Immigration, as saying.

"I strongly advise anyone who wants a visa for the UK not to listen to agents who offer to sell forged documents or say that they can guarantee a visa," he added.

According to Greig, the visa and immigration office, working with its international partners and Indian authorities, has developed effective processes to detect fraud.

"When we uncover fraud, including false bank statements, education and language certificates, we will refuse the visa and the applicant will face a ten-year ban on travelling to the UK, as well as possible action by the Indian authorities. We will report agents involved in fraud to police," Greig warned.

According to the statement, an applicant was arrested in Chennai for using false documents about his financial circumstances to apply for a British visa.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the applicant had paid an agent Rs.200,000 in order to obtain the false documents.

The visa application has been refused and the applicant, who has been arrested, banned for ten years from travelling to Britain. In addition, he now faces prosecution, the statement said.