Daily Mail

That’s how much EU want to make British tourists pay for a visa to visit Europe

- By Mario Ledwith Brussels Correspond­ent

BrITIsh holidaymak­ers will be hit with a £6 fee to travel to the eU after Brexit under plans drawn up by the bloc.

They will be required to provide personal details and informatio­n about their recent movements in order to enter the eU.

and they will also be obliged to answer questions about any criminal history.

The plan, which was signed off by eU ambassador­s yesterday, will fuel concerns about how the UK and the eU will reach agreement on a highly contentiou­s deal on cross-border travel after Brexit.

The entrance fee has been proposed as part of the european Travel Informatio­n and authorisat­ion system, which the eU insists is primarily a way of cutting down on illegal immigratio­n and tracking criminals.

But the eU also hopes the scheme will help to fill the £11.5billion budget ‘ black hole’ caused by Britain’s departure. It will apply to nationals from all non-eU countries who do not require visas to travel in the bloc’s schengen zone. Britain is expected to fall into this category, unless it negotiates an exemption. after Brexit, British travellers will be among the estimated 39million yearly visitors to the eU who could be hit by the fee.

Under the system, travellers would have to apply online by providing personal informatio­n and passport details, before noting the first country they are travelling to and answering background questions.

The registrati­on informatio­n will then be checked against eU crimefight­ing databases.

While most decisions will take just minutes, problemati­c cases could lead to further requests before being finally answered within four weeks.

approved visas will remain valid for three years or until the passport used during the registrati­on process expires. They can be revoked if new alerts about a traveller arise.

British officials will be hopeful that an exemption to the scheme for short-term travellers can be won during negotiatio­ns in order to cut down on costs for Britons.

Theresa May has insisted that the UK will take back control of its borders, as well as ending freedom of movement after Brexit. But ministers have not said about how they plan to administer the entry of eU nationals coming to Britain.

last year a report written by Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, a Brexiteer, proposed charging eU nationals £10 for a visa to enter the UK after Brexit.

he said the plans could raise £150million a year and would be similar to america’s esTa programme, which determines the eligibilit­y of visitors to travel to the Us under the visawaiver system.

Meanwhile, the Government has warned that a planned Brexit security pact with the eU could fall apart under Brussels plans to exclude Britain from a multi-billion satellite navigation project.

Ministers have been left furious after the bloc said the UK’s role in the £9billion Galileo system was up for negotiatio­n, despite Britain being one of the biggest investors in it.

The Government is weighing up a number of retaliator­y measures and may even set up a rival system. officials are seeking advice on whether the UK may be able to retrieve the £1.2billion in taxpayer funds that have been dedicated to the programme.

The eU scheme will see the creation of a navigation service made up of 24 satellites to rival america’s dominant GPs and a similar system used by russia.

‘They would have to apply online’

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom