ALL visitors to Britain will have to fill out a US-style visa waiver form after Brexit, Boris Johnson will say today.
The plan, part of a five-point Tory blueprint to strengthen Britains borders, will allow officials to screen arrivals in advance and block those deemed a threat from entering the country.
And, when the technology becomes available, the electronic travel authorisation similar to the ESTAs needed to visit the US will have to include biometric data. This will enable investigators to link evidence from crime scenes to foreigners in the country.
Mr Johnson will highlight the proposals during a visit to UK border staff at a port on Monday. He will also promise to introduce automated entrance and exit checks to identify those who have overstayed their visa in a crackdown on illegal immigration.
For the first time, people will be officially counted in and out of the country as part of the Tory plan.
At present, the numbers are estimated from entry and exit surveys.
The new system will allow the authorities to get much more accurate immigration statistics and help economic planning.
Biometric passports will also be made a requirement to tighten security at the border.
After Brexit, Border Force officials will also get the power to block EU citizens with a criminal record from entering the UK.
Individual staff will be given discretion to decide on cases at the point of entry at the border.
FIVE-POINT PLAN
The five-point plan will also involve the pre-arrival collection of data on goods destined for the UK from the EU matching the requirements for consignments from outside Europe.
The move is designed to plug a 5billion black hole in HMRC revenues from goods smuggled in to the UK because, at the moment, they do not have to be declared before they arrive at the border.
Also, EU citizens will no longer be able to enter the country using their European ID cards, which are much easier to fake than passports.
ID cards from some countries, notably Italy and Greece, are notoriously easy to fake and are exploited by criminals and terrorists.
While it is tied to EU rules, Britain is obliged to accept the cards as proof of identity.
But Brexit will allow the UK to close the loophole and passports will be deemed the only acceptable proof of identity to enter the country, Mr Johnson will say.
Unveiling the plans on Sunday night, Home Secretary Priti Patel 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 strengthen our border and improve the security of the UK.
The consequence of EU law limiting our border capability is brought home to me every day.
It is a sad fact that drugs and guns reach our streets from Europe, fuelling violence and addiction.
People traffickers dont think twice about risking people’s lives for profit. And most shockingly of all we know that terrorists have been able to enter the country by exploiting free movement.
I am committed to doing everything we can to secure the border and protect the UK.
