British immigration minister Robert Goodwill reportedly told fellow members of parliament that the EU was considering adopting a version of America’s Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta), but it is too early to know whether this would also apply to Britons after withdrawal.
The Esta costs £11 and enables British tourists to go to the US for less than 90 days without a visa, but is required even if visitors are only passing through the US in transit. Alan Brown, SNP member of the European Scrutiny Committee, told the minister that Leave advocates in the referendum campaign had insisted there would be no need for visa-like travel schemes after Brexit, The Telegraph reported.
He added: "An Esta still takes time and costs money and is something people have to repeat."
Goodwill replied: "We are at a very early stage of the EU potential scheme and we will see how that develops. British people are now used to the US Esta scheme and, therefore, we view with interest how the European scheme might develop and what similarities, and differences, there may be to the US scheme. In principle, this type of scheme is generally there to help enhance security. To get to know as much as possible about the people who are intending to travel. It isn’t just flights, it could be people using ferries, or other border crossings into the European Union. It is important that as we negotiate with our EU friends, that we can get the best possible deal, and we need to take account of developments such as this that they may be working on."