Visitors to the UK would be allowed to stay in the country three months instead of the current six under new visa proposals being considered by the government, BBC reported Tuesday.

Families might also have to pay a financial deposit to ensure relatives from outside the EU, whose visit they were sponsoring left the UK on time. Press reports claim it would be set at GBP 1,000.

The government said the bond was not for everyone, but where they think there is a risk.

The proposals are aimed at those who deliberately overstay or work illegally in the UK.

Immigration groups opposed the proposal saying it would be "unfair" on poorer families.

In addition to shortening standard tourist visas, the government might also introduce special occasion visas for events such as the London Olympics in 2012.

Visitors to the EU may be offered a cut price and time-limited visa to visit the UK to encourage group travel, the consultation document says.

It says that although 5,750,000 visitors entered the UK for purposes other than business in 2006, the "vast majority" stayed for less than three months.

The consultation was launched as the government announced that over a million fingerprints had now been collected from overseas foreign nationals applying to come to the UK, under a new scheme to "export" Britain's borders.

The visa consultation will run for 12 weeks, until 10 March 2008, on the Home Office website.

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