Patel unveils digital visa to help ‘count people entering and leaving UK’

US-style electronic travel authorisation will automatically determine the eligibility of visitors in advance

Priti Patel has unveiled a US-style digital visa system that she claimed would help the government to count numbers of people entering and leaving the UK accurately for the first time.

People coming to the UK without a visa or immigration status would in the future need to apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), the home secretary said, which automatically determines the eligibility of visitors in advance. The Home Office anticipates about 30 million ETA applications each year.