Dear Alan,
Congratulations on becoming Home Secretary. I hope that you will heed some of my advice although I am just a layman.
I live in Egypt (Cairo) and I would like you to know that, although Egypt is a developing country, no foreigner may enter Egypt without a proper visa . He can be Arab, African, Roumanian, Russian or even British. There are no "ifs" or "buts" here. When you enter Egypt you receive a visa for one month---if you wish to extend this visa you have to visit a grey, unwelcoming building called the Mogama. If you are no longer a tourist after one month, and cannot prove that you have an employer's backing, you are arrested and thrown out of the country.You may not try to pull the wool over the eyes of the people at Mogama---unlike many Egyptians they accept no bribes or whining.
What you need is a Mogama: a computer is anathema to them but the checks on immigrants go from a courteous smile to another man, another woman, another man, and so on. If you are illegal, you are illegal and your famous Ghana personality gets nowhere.
You could learn from this Mr Johnson, before the Birmingham et al figures rise from 50% immigrants to 70%.
After all, whose country is it?
