The British High Commission has warned visa applicants against submitting forged and fictitious documents, saying offenders risk being prosecuted. Nicholas Westcott, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, who gave the warning in an interaction with the media on Wednesday in Accra, said submitting forged documents is criminal and is good grounds for visa refusal. Offenders, he stressed, are liable to prosecution by the Ghana Police, adding, “The penalties for giving false information or documents are increasingly severe, so don’t do it.” The British High Commission, between October to December last year, tracked 349 forged documents and arrested 243 people for presenting forged documents. The media Open Day forms part of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) efforts to communicate its works in Ghana, including requirements for visa processing system. As part of the day, journalists were taken through the visa application centre at Labone and the visa section at the British High Commission, during which journalists were given an overview of the full range of UKBA’s work and detailed information on how the Embassy handles and considers visa applications. The High Commission said applicants could give themselves better chances of securing visas by providing all the information needed and avoiding any forgery, stressing applicants should be honest about applications. “Our job is to make the visa process as swift, efficient, fair and transparent as possible. We want to give a good service to every visa applicant, whatever the outcome of the process”. Dr. Westcott said though it is part of human evolution and human nature for people to migrate and travel from one place to another, the creation of nation states, frontiers and borders have changed the ways this movement could happen, explaining ‘that is why almost all countries now exert some control over who can travel and who can stay there’. In the case of the UK, Dr. Westcott said it has chosen to maintain strict control over who can and cannot travel into it, even though its doors are wide open to legitimate visitors. “Most people want to travel to visit friends and relations, to see foreign countries, to study or not work. The majority will have a legitimate reason to do that. But there are always some who wish to commit crimes or acts of terrorism, traffic drugs or other contraband, or take work contrary to the laws of that land”. Highlighting UKBA’s achievements and improvement of its services as well as new initiatives, Simon Peachey, the Regional Manager, said the UK continues to make changes designed to improve its border security and its ability to attract legitimate travelers and trade. Notable among these changes are law enforcement referral programme, biometrics (fingerprints and digital photo), online applications available and the points-based system. He said a number of customers preferred to apply online, adding that the intake in Ghana has increased from 5 per cent to 40 per cent in the last 44year. Recent changes to the application centre, he said, made it more customer-friendly, in addition to innovations this year which include internet, courier services and SMS application tracking which informs applicants of their visa application status. According to Mr. Peachey, the Embassy has concealed the interview session. It handled over 11,000 applications between January to September last year within 20 working days. He maintained that genuine, objective and reliable supporting evidence is critical to the success of a visa application. “We have access to a wide range of information, including; all previous applications to travel to the UK, previous sponsorship of an application to travel to the UK, a database tracking when individuals enter and leave the UK and UK immigration biometric database covering all previous asylum claims. "It also entails all those involved in an immigration offence as well as all those removed from the UK and UK police biometric database”. Mr. Peachey was however quick to point out that customers still need to supply documentary evidence for key elements of their application, citing employment or financial circumstances as well as originals of supporting documents. “We understand customers may not have access to some documents. We ask that this be explained clearly on the application form. Do not be persuaded to buy false or forced documents”. During the tour to the visa section, Stuart Gardner, the Entry Clearance Manager, said the Embassy has a way of tracking both genuine and non-genuine information of all applicants, and that every applicant is treated on merit. He disabused the mind of the public that visas are issued to applicants who have a travelling track record, explaining that visas are issued based on genuine document. Formed in April 2008 to improve UK’s border security and manage migration to the UK, UKBA provides 2.5million applications every year, enforced customer regulations and considers asylum and citizenship applications in the UK. Source: Daily Guide/Ghana