Hostile immigration policy '˜threat' to Iona pilgrimages

Religious leaders have warned that the UK's increasingly hostile immigration policies threaten the centuries-old tradition of global pilgrimage to the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland.

The pilgrims lave the Abbey and walk past the Cross of St Martin with its deep shadow. Picture: Robert Perry

The Iona Community said tougher restrictions and the cost of visas for people wanting to volunteer or visit the Hebridean holy isle already made it virtually impossible for anyone from continents such as Africa to come.

Now it fears that uncertainty over Brexit could prevent or put off pilgrims coming from across Europe too.

That risk, it warned, made survival harder for both the Christian community and the wider 170-strong island population, whose livelihoods also rely heavily on Iona’s iconic status.

The isle, off Mull, has attracted pilgrims since St Columba arrived in the sixth century to found what became one of the most influential monasteries in the British Isles.

The Rev Kathy Galloway, co-leader of the Iona Community – the Christian group established in the 1930s to continue St Columba’s mission – said: “We’ve always had a few volunteers from Africa and Asia but it’s almost impossible 
now.

“And as for volunteers from Europe, we just don’t know what will happen with Brexit or how we will manage.

“Having already contracted from the rest of the world (by making it increasingly difficult for foreigners to obtain permission to visit, work or volunteer), if we’re now going to contract from mainland Europe as well it’s dreadful. It does not sit well with the faith community.”

“It would [now] take us two years to get one volunteer from Malawi or Kenya and it’s become so costly that we can’t do it (as the Christian community can’t afford to meet the costs of visas for prospective pilgrims).

“It makes Iona a less diverse place and makes it harder for people to make pilgrimages. Many of the people coming to volunteer on our programmes are on a pilgrimage.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Each year the UK welcomes millions of legitimate visitors and thousands of volunteers from across the world and will continue to do so in the future. There are no country-specific policies for volunteers applying for a visa.”

Each visa application was considered on its merits and visa fees for charity and religious workers were lower than most other categories of visa, he added.