New British border scheme will require visitors to apply for an electronic permit

A new border scheme aimed at making the United Kingdom safer will require visitors to apply for an electronic permit to enter the UK legally.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said the changes would make the United Kingdom safer, she also argued it will make it easier to count those coming to the UK.

Under the plan, non-citizens without a visa or immigration status will have to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before coming to the UK.

The Home Office says the new system would allow automated and early security checks to take place to stop foreign criminals from arriving in the country, with applicants only allowed to travel once they have been cleared.

The department also claimed the new scheme will make it easier to count the numbers coming into the country and notes that past migration figures have underestimated the true figure.

For example, the government estimated three million Europeans lived in the UK, however, more than five million ended up applying to the EU settlement scheme.

The new system is modelled on an existing US Electronic System for Travel Authorization that has been in operation since 2009, the EU is also planning to introduce its own version named the European Travel Information and Authorisation System next year.

Speaking ahead of that announcement, Ms Patel said: “Now we have taken back control and ended free movement, security is at the very heart of our immigration strategy.

“Our new approach will make it easier to identify potential threats before they reach the border.”

However, Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the government of “utter incompetence” adding that it had “broken” the asylum system.

Speaking to Sky News he said: “If you look at 2014, 87% of asylum claims were being dealt with within six months, that figure had fallen to 20% by 2019, and what did the government do? They got rid of performance targets.”