News: Minister's confusion

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A Government minister has added to the confusion over new US immigration rules by claiming that travellers will soon need so-called "smart" passports to visit America. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions, the Cabinet Office minister Ruth Kelly asserted that the US is: "Shortly going to insist on all travellers having biometric proof of identity". She added: "We won't even be able to travel freely unless we use this biometric technology."

A Government minister has added to the confusion over new US immigration rules by claiming that travellers will soon need so-called "smart" passports to visit America. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions, the Cabinet Office minister Ruth Kelly asserted that the US is: "Shortly going to insist on all travellers having biometric proof of identity". She added: "We won't even be able to travel freely unless we use this biometric technology."

Yet no such proposal exists, and there was surprise in the travel industry that a minister in a Government politically so close to Washington DC should spread such misinformation.

The rules on visiting America are increasingly draconian, but stop well short of excluding people without passports containing a chip with biometric data. For the record:

1. Travellers currently holding a passport will be able to visit the US without a visa during the remainder of its validity, subject to the usual Visa Waiver Program rules.

2. Travellers who have passports issued after 26 October next year that are not "smart" will still be able to visit the US, but must apply for a visa. There is no intention to ban people from travelling.

3. The UK Passport Service believes it will be in a position to issue passports containing biometric data from 2006. Therefore anyone whose passport is soon to expire, and who intends to visit the US without a visa, should renew it before 26 October 2005 or wait until the new "smart" passports are available.

A spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said: "Not only is it unfortunate that a minister is not up to speed on an important travel and passport issue, but this kind of misinformation can unnecessarily put people off travelling".

The US has already deferred by a year the insistence that those planning to use the Visa Waiver scheme must have "smart" passports. The UK travel industry is lobbying for the rule to be further delayed until 2006.