Artan, the barred referee at the centre of the UK visa scandal, insists he has the right papers and visa. But his protestations ring hollow in a system that has clearly lost control of its own border. The Home Office, like a central bank printing money without a target, is creating liabilities it cannot manage.
Artan’s case is just one data point in a broader trend of regulatory capture and bureaucratic incompetence. The market for visas, like any other, relies on clear rules and enforcement. When those rules are flouted, trust erodes.
And trust, as any economist knows, is the real currency of a functioning society. The government must tighten its fiscal grip on immigration policy or risk a run on its credibility.
