I invite you to read the debate in the House of Lords on November 25th, the night before the new Points Based System (PBS) went live for tiers 2 and 5 of the new Immigration Rules. Lord Avebury opened the debate and you will read there how he set out the problems that we are going to face now when attempting to bring monks and nuns in from overseas or when enabling some of those already here to stay. This is a very serious matter that threatens the future of some of the smaller temples and in terms of cost alone will be a significant burden on several.

If you start investigating the new rules and requirements you will find on the Internet pages of densely packed information that even I as a native English speaker recoil from. Put simply, from now on a Thai, Burmese or Sri Lankan Buddhist monk or nun coming to stay at any of our temples as anything more than a very temporary visitor will have to enter under Tier 2 as a Minister of Religion , a Missionary or as a Member of a Religious Order, in each case with a demandingly high level of competence in English required or just possibly under Tier 5 as a Religious Worker in a Non-pastoral Role. Temples will have to register as a Sponsor, a complex process that will cost three or four hundred pounds, and then for everyone coming in a Sponsorship Certificate will have to be issued at a further cost of £170, followed by the visa fee. And although Buddhist monks are not supposed to have money they will have to have a bank account with at least £800 in it as well as guarentees of sufficient maintenance by the sponsoring temple or body. The real problem however is the high level of English competence that will have to be complied with.

Unfortunately no one thought to talk to us before this became law. A couple of lay contacts were apparently informed but not the Sangha and we only found out too late.