Visitors to the UK will have to answer tough security questions to enter the country as part of border reforms.
The UK is to introduce an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme for visitors from certain countries in October. The scheme will be extended worldwide next year.
Visitors from Qatar will be the first to be subject to the new rules, followed by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan from February. The Home Office said the scheme “will strengthen security at the border and improve travel for visitors to the UK”.
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As part of the application process, people will need to provide biometric details and answer a set of “suitability questions”, reports The Mirror. While the Home Office has not said what those questions are likely to be, they may be similar to the rigorous questionnaire which visitors to the US must answer.
It includes probing questions about whether "you suffer from a contagious or transmissible illness or psychiatric problems", "if you use narcotics", and "if you have been arrested or convicted and if so for what type of crime". Travellers to the US are also asked if they "intend to engage in immoral activities whilst in the United States" and "if you have been implicated in spying activities, genocide, or terrorism, or if you were implicated with the German Nazi allies of the Second World War."
The scheme’s introduction comes after the European Union laid out plans for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) for UK visitors following Brexit. This is likely to be introduced in 2024, costing €7 (£6.20).
The Home Office said: “The cost of an ETA will be in line with similar international schemes, and individuals can make multiple visits to the UK over a two-year validity period. The scheme will also further strengthen our border, by ensuring robust security checks are conducted on every visitor pre-travel.”
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: “Strengthening our border remains one of the government’s top priorities. ETAs will enhance our border security by increasing our knowledge about those seeking to come to the UK and preventing the arrival of those who pose a threat.
“It will also improve travel for legitimate visitors, with those visiting from Gulf Cooperation Council states being among the first to benefit.”
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