Alternative Africa

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

logo

Alternative Africa

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
  • The story of Michael Boulos, Trump’s son-in-law raised in Lagos, Nigeria

  • Nigerian police launches Rescue Me App to tackle insecurity

  • Morocco’s largest city Casablanca dissolves 15,956 marriages amid 2020 COVID-19 crisis

  • Seven things to know about COVID-19 variants in Africa

  • Legendary broadcaster, Larry King dies weeks after testing positive for COVID-19

AfricaNews NowWorld
Home›Africa›UK to abolish ‘racist’ visa system after legal challenge

UK to abolish ‘racist’ visa system after legal challenge

By alternativeafrica
August 5, 2020
502
0
Share:

London, August 5, 2020 (AltAfrica)-British government announced on Tuesday that it will stop using a computer algorithm to streamline visa applications after NGOs labelled it “racist” and launch a legal challenge against it

UK to abolish ‘racist’ visa algorithm after legal challenge

The Home Office’s decision, which will take effect on August 7, comes after the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and Foxglove, a digital rights group, launched a legal challenge against the use of the algorithm.

READ ALSO: ILO CELEBRATES HISTORIC RATIFICATION OF CHILD LABOUR CONVENTION BY ALL MEMBER STATES

The Home Office said in a statement that it has “been reviewing how the visa application streaming tool operates and will be redesigning our processes to make them even more streamlined and secure.”

“We do not accept the allegations the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants made in their Judicial Review claim and whilst litigation is still on-going it would not be appropriate for the Department to comment any further,” it added.

The redesign of the system is to be completed at the latest on October 30, it said.

‘Entrenched racism’

The system has been in place since at least 2015 and used a traffic light system to grade every entry visa application to the UK, assigning Red, Amber or Green risk rating to applicants, according to the JCWI.

Foxglove welcomed the government’s announcement, saying “it’s great news because the algorithm entrenched racism and bias into the visa system”.

The system has been in place since at least 2015 and used a traffic light system to grade every entry visa application to the UK, assigning Red, Amber or Green risk rating to applicants, according to the JCWI.

“The visa algorithm discriminated on the basis of nationality — by design,” the organisation said in a statement.

According to the two NGOs, a number of “suspect” countries had been blacklisted so that applications from there were automatically graded Red.

“Their applications received intense scrutiny by Home Office officials, were approached with more scepticism, took longer to determine, and were more likely to be refused,” the JCWI added.

Foxglove supplemented that “it got so bad that academic and nonprofit organisations told us they no longer even tried to have colleagues from certain countries visit the UK to work with them”.

They also argue that the algorithm suffered from a feedback loop, “where past bias and discrimination, fed into a computer programme, reinforce future bias and discrimination,” Foxglove explained.

Furthermore, they denounced the system’s lack of transparency.

In a letter sent to Foxglove, the government argued that it “had already moved away from the use of the Streaming Tool in many application types”.

“Indeed recently, its use has been limited to applications for visit visas and a small number of other entry clearance routes including Short-Term Study, Overseas Domestic Worker and applications made overseas from non-EEA family members,” it went on.

Source

SHARE ON:
TagsRacist Visa AlgorithmUnited KingdomVisa Restriction
Previous Article

ILO celebrates historic ratification of Child Labour ...

Next Article

Mali gets $1m to rebuild damaged heritage ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

alternativeafrica

Related articles More from author

  • AfricaNews Now

    US imposes visa restrictions on Ghana

    February 1, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • HealthNews NowWorld

    UK records additional 888 deaths as Coronavirus fatalities in hospitals pass 15,000

    April 18, 2020
    By alternativeafrica
  • News NowPoliticsWorld

    U.K. politicians harass, bully staff, new report finds

    July 11, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • News NowWorld

    Donald Trump arrives UK after twitter attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan

    June 3, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • HealthNews NowWorld

    UK begins trial of artificial antibodies, monoclonal as new treatment for coronavirus

    September 14, 2020
    By alternativeafrica
  • BusinessNews NowWorld

    UK budget deficit to hit £250b over borrowing to fight coronavirus

    April 23, 2020
    By alternativeafrica

Leave a reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You might be interested

  • AfricaHealthNews Now

    Nigeria: Nigerian president, Buhari Inaugurates World-Class Cancer Treatment Centre in Lagos

  • BusinessNews Now

    Kenyan Mobile money transactions hit Sh3.7trn in 12 months

  • AfricaHealthNews Now

    Nigeria launches research to uncover traditional cure for sickle cell anaemia

Timeline

  • January 24, 2021

    The story of Michael Boulos, Trump’s son-in-law raised in Lagos, Nigeria

  • January 24, 2021

    Nigerian police launches Rescue Me App to tackle insecurity

  • January 24, 2021

    Morocco’s largest city Casablanca dissolves 15,956 marriages amid 2020 COVID-19 crisis

  • January 24, 2021

    Seven things to know about COVID-19 variants in Africa

  • January 23, 2021

    Legendary broadcaster, Larry King dies weeks after testing positive for COVID-19

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Morocco begins regional integration by connecting Casablanca Airport with High Speed Train

    By alternativeafrica
    January 4, 2020
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Nigeria: 32,000 capacity Lagos rice mill to start production in 2020

    By alternativeafrica
    December 23, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...
AlternativeAfrica.com is an independent Pan African News Website dedicated primarily to influencing the negative narratives about Africa. We hope to do this by focusing and showcasing the many developmental strides sweeping across the continent.

Read more >>>

Contact Info

  • info@alternativeafrica.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • The story of Michael Boulos, Trump’s son-in-law raised in Lagos, Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    January 24, 2021
  • Nigerian police launches Rescue Me App to tackle insecurity

    By alternativeafrica
    January 24, 2021
  • Morocco’s largest city Casablanca dissolves 15,956 marriages amid 2020 COVID-19 crisis

    By alternativeafrica
    January 24, 2021
  • Seven things to know about COVID-19 variants in Africa

    By alternativeafrica
    January 24, 2021
  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Macron in Ivory Coast to launch anti-terrorism academy

    By alternativeafrica
    December 21, 2019
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...

Photostream

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
    © Copyright Alternative Africa 2019. All rights reserved.