Kathmandu, April 2:

The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisation (GAESO) today criticised the British government’s decision to increase visa fees for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE). The ILR and ILE are issued to former Gurkhas only.

With effect from today, the British government fixed the fee for ILR at $ 750 (Rs 105,000) and $500 (Rs 70,000) for ILE.

Though the visa fees for the ILE was initially fixed at Rs 27,000, it was increased to Rs 39,000, the GAESO said in a press release today. “As the number of Gurkhas going to the UK is on the rise, the British government, intending to cash in on the opportunity, increased the fees to Rs 72,500 for ILE,” the GAESO said in the statement.

The GAESO said it will launch fresh protests in Nepal and in the UK against the decision.