Visitors from EU will need US-style electronic visas to enter Britain after Brexit in new border crackdown pledge from Tories
- The new changes were outlined by Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday
- Anyone travelling from Europe currently only requires an ID card to gain entry
- New system would give officials more of a chance to screen and block arrivals
Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) announced that EU visitors will need US-style electronic clearance before travelling to Britain after Brexit
EU visitors will need US-style electronic clearance before travelling to Britain after Brexit, the Tories have pledged.
Travellers from Europe currently only require an ID card to gain entry.
But under the proposed system, they would require passports – and have to fill in an online form before travelling.
This would give officials more of a chance to screen arrivals and block those deemed as a threat from entering.
In another move, importers would have to provide information on goods arriving as part of a bid to crackdown on smuggling.
The changes were outlined by Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday.
She said: ‘When people voted to leave in 2016 they were voting to take back control of our borders.
After Brexit we will introduce an Australian-style points based immigration system and take steps to improve the security of the UK.
‘The consequence of EU law limiting our border capability is brought home to me every day. I am committed to doing everything we can to secure the border.’
An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system would be introduced for anyone coming without a visa. Travellers would pre-submit their details online, much like the American Esta (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) programme.
The Conservatives said the ETA plan would ‘strengthen our ability to identify and block the entry of those who present a threat to the UK’.
Visitors would have to declare their criminal history.
Travellers from Europe currently only require an ID card to gain entry. But the new system would give officials more of a chance to screen arrivals and block those deemed as a threat from entering (stock image)
In future, they could also be required to hand over biometrics, such as their fingerprints.
European ID cards will no longer be accepted for entry.
The Tories said that some EU countries are still issuing paper ID cards, which represent a serious security risk.
Every year more than 1,000 non-EU nationals are reported to seek entry by fraudulently using EU documentation.
The Tory crackdown comes as Jeremy Corbyn yesterday told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he did not believe freedom of movement could totally ‘ever come to an end because of the relationship between families, between Britain and Europe, the needs of all of our services’.