Home Office admits ‘challenge’ stopping people illegally entering the UK under new ETA scheme

Lord Sandhurst said: ‘If I’m on a wicked mission for Mr Putin carrying dangerous poisons, that would be my route in, wouldn’t it?’

It will be ‘a challenge’ to catch people illegally entering the UK from the Republic of Ireland who have not signed up to a new travel scheme, a Home Office official has admitted (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Archive)

It will be “a challenge” to catch people illegally entering the UK from the Republic of Ireland who have not signed up to a new travel scheme, a Home Office official has admitted.

An electronic travel authorisation (ETA) is a requirement for people who do not need a visa to come to the UK.

The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme is now in operation – but currently only for visitors from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It costs £10 and is valid for two years, unless the traveller’s passport expires sooner.

The government describes the ETA as “a new requirement for people who do not need a visa to come to the UK”. It will be needed even for those who are “airside” at Heathrow for two hours between international flights.

The programme is being extended to nationals of all countries but will not apply to Irish citizens because they have a right to travel to any part of the UK under the Common Travel Area.

Simon Bond, a senior director in the Home Office, was questioned by the House of Lords’ Justice and Home Affairs Committee about enforcement.

Committee member Lord Sandhurst asked Mr Bond about a scenario in which he was a foreign national of “villainous intent” who enters the Republic of Ireland and could “just hop on a plane to London” despite not having an ETA.

He added: “I may be committing a criminal offence, but how are your lot and the security people going to know that I have done this?”

In his answer, Mr Bond admitted “that is certainly a challenge”, adding: “The overall intent is to understand as much as possible about everyone coming to the UK, in order to upstream all of those checks.”

Lord Sandhurst responded: “If I’m on a wicked mission for Mr Putin (Russian president Vladimir Putin) carrying dangerous poisons, that would be my route in, wouldn’t it?”

Mr Bond did not reply.

The ETA scheme was introduced in November 2023 but is currently only for nationals of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

It is scheduled to be extended to include the European Union, the European Economic Area and Swiss nationals from early 2025, and the rest of the world this autumn.

ETAs

How do travellers obtain an ETA?

Online through a UK government website or via the app (search for UK ETA on the Apple app store or Google Play).

You need to supply a photograph and answer a set of questions. The government says: “This will ensure we have information on those seeking to come to the UK helping to prevent dangerous individuals, such as criminals, entering the UK.”

A decision on each case is expected “usually” within three days. In practice, existing similar schemes in the US, Canada and elsewhere deliver approval more quickly.

Commercial sites that are designed to tempt applicants to pay additional fees have already appeared, such as etauk.uk, which is based in Spain and has no connection with the UK government.

Lord Dubs suggested to immigration minister Tom Pursglove it is “not a very satisfactory position” that a tourist from a third country visiting the Republic of Ireland will be committing a criminal offence if they cross into Northern Ireland without an ETA.

The peer asked the minister “how are you going to enforce this?” given there are no immigration controls at the land border.

Mr Pursglove replied: “The issue that I have with taking a different approach to this and to creating an exemption is the fact that it just blows a hole in the whole concept of trying to have that more enhanced border security.

“We want to stop individuals from arriving at the UK border in the first place, understanding more about people who are making those journeys.

“I think that as a Government, we’ve been pragmatic in terms of what we’ve managed to agree in terms of the earlier exemption with those residents in Ireland who are third-country nationals.

“I think that is a sensible approach that we’ve taken there.

“We will obviously of course keep these policies under review but I think the fundamental concept that we’re trying to uphold here is one that is important and I wouldn’t want to undermine that.

“I think the key place that we should place our energy in relation to this, is to communicate what this change means for travellers.”