Starting from the 1st July 2009, visitors from the following 5 countries will require a tourist visa for short stay visits - Bolivia, Venezuela, South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

This was the result of the first round of a global review of short-term visit visas that the UKBA and Home Office has conducted. The review was conducted to assess the level of risk posed by citizens of other countries when visiting the UK in terms of illegal immigration, crime, and security. The new visa requirement was also introduced to help combat identity and passport fraud.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

"Already our shake-up of border security is delivering results, with fingerprint visas helping us catch thousands of people trying to hide their true identity or a criminal past. "Today sees visa checks come into effect in the remaining countries that failed to pass our strict visa waiver test.

"I am determined that the UK Border Agency should continue to strengthen the border and 2009 is the year of delivery. As well as applying greater scrutiny to visitors, we are being more selective about who can work in the UK and coming down hard on rule breakers.”

The review is still ongoing and it is widely expected that there will be further rounds of new visa requirements for citizens of countries that currently have visa-free access to the UK for leisure or short stay purposes. Unofficially, one of the countries on the list is Malaysia, and although it is expected that no decision regarding visa requirements for Malaysian citizens will be made anytime soon, the signs are not good given that the UKBA and Home Office has experienced above average levels of fradulent entry and illegal stay from Malaysian passport holders, some of which might not be legitimate passports.

In August 2009, the UK Border Agency is expected to roll out facial recognition technology in around 11 point of entries to the UK to deter and prevent those who have been red flagged to enter to the country.

As the process of obtaining a UK visa, even a tourist visa, is getting harder by the day, all applicants are advised to thoroughly understand the rules and application process, and follow these simple guidelines to ensure a stress-free and successful visa application approval.