UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday that Britons may need to apply for permission to travel under a US-styled visa waiver scheme being considered by the European commission. “I think work permits certainly has value, but we’re not ruling anything out at the moment”, Ms Rudd said.
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Asked about the public’s reaction, the Home Secretary added: “I think they would be surprised”.
Brits could have to apply for visas to travel through Europe after Brexit – it has been reported.
“The EU and the Commissioners may be considering issues, alternatives, they will be considering their negotiation with us, just as we are considering it with them”.
They added: “They’re thinking about their position, we’re doing the same”.
A Home Office source told the Telegraph: “We want to get the best outcome possible for the United Kingdom but we can’t rule anything out because we don’t know what might happen”. “It’s a reminder that this is a two-way negotiation”.
They are due to unveil draft legislation for the European Union travel information and authorisation system (Etias) later this year, the Guardian reports. “And that’s a effect of the fact that discussions with the European Union are more advanced than they are with the United Kingdom”.
A scheme apparently being debated by the executive body of the European Union suggests the 26-nation passport-free Schengen zone, which does not include the United Kingdom, could operate a visa programme similar to the U.S. waiver.
She also reaffirmed the Tory manifesto commitment to cut immigration to the United Kingdom to the tens of thousands.
Ms Rudd said the United Kingdom will be able to control its borders post-Brexit but stressed any measures introduced would have to be “reciprocal”.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “Theresa May has said ending freedom of movement was her priority, but presumably this was not what she had in mind”.
She said: “It was ineffective as people could essentially game the system”.
Following the suggestion that Mr Johnson was now driving Brexit in his role as Foreign Secretary, Ms Rudd said: “Boris is not the driver”.
Amid concerns from universities that student arrivals could be reduced, Rudd sought to give some reassurance. “The rest of us are in the auto”.
HOME Secretary Amber Rudd is refusing to rule out an European Union deal which could see Brits charged for travelling to the Continent.
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“Looking ahead, the lesson from the past is that it takes at least a year for Sterling depreciations to boost net trade, as it takes time for firms to re-negotiate contacts and exporters to invest in new capacity”.
