New Delhi, June 26: The UK today said it had not yet finalised the proposal to charge cash bonds of £ 3,000 (about Rs 2.75 lakh) from short-term visa applicants, responding to a growing criticism of the plan both in countries likely to be affected and in Britain itself.

The cash bond plan — aimed to deter visitors from overstaying — is only one of many options the UK is considering to tackle illegal immigration, the British High Commission here said, a day after India asked its London envoy Jaimini Bhagwati to seek clarity on the proposal.

“Any such scheme will be designed in a way that does not cut across the UK’s wish to be open for business, students and tourists,” Marcus Winsley, director of press and communications at the high commission, said.

The assurance to genuine visitors — and the insistence that the proposal itself is just an idea at present — came as the British government came under attack from many countries and sections of its own population.

The proposal, first reported last weekend in Sunday Times, involves running a pilot project under which select individuals from “high risk” nations will have to agree to a financial bond to get a six-month visa. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana are the nations being considered for the dubious tag. The pilot will only cover those individuals from these nations, who are considered potentially capable of overstaying.

But, the proposal could hurt tourism to the country, London mayor Boris Johnson has warned. Many in Britain see the proposal as tinged with race — since the countries being considered for the tag of “high risk” all belong to Asia or Africa.

The ministry of external affairs has said it will raise India’s concerns over the proposal at an official meeting with British consular officials slated for end-July. Commerce minister Anand Sharma, who was in London till yesterday, spoke to his British counterparts, and was told that the proposal hadn’t been formally decided on yet.

In his statement today, Winsley, too, said there had been no decision on “how such a pilot scheme would work in practice” — though UK home secretary Theresa May has been quoted in the British press defending the plan.

Indian chambers of commerce have warned that the proposal, if implemented, could dramatically hurt trade relations with Britain. Students, too, will be hurt. The UK is the most popular destination for Indian students going abroad, after the US.

Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also slammed the proposal.