The times when, to go to London, the identity card was enough, could be almost finished. From 1 January 2021, in the event that conservatives win, European tourists will need to obtain an electronic visa (a form to be filled out similar to the American Esta ) to gain access to Britain.
The plan will be announced today by Prime Minister Boris Johnson: tourists leaving Europe will have to obtain an authorization online before leaving for London, and will have to do so at least three days before the date of travel. Yes, this also means that it will no longer be possible to plan a last-minute weekend in London. But even for those leaving for business, inconvenience is expected.
Identity cards will no longer be needed (in particular, Interior Minister Priti Patel has reported the Italian and Greek ones, which she believes would be the easiest to falsify): it will become necessary to show your passport . Entry into the UK can be denied to those with criminal records (which type has not yet been specified). In addition, arrivals and departures of tourists will be registered with an “In & Out” counting system to ensure that those traveling for tourism stay longer than three months, and that those who want to stay longer must obtain a work visa .
However, each of these measures can only come into effect if the conservatives win the elections of next week, those of December 12: if it happens, Brexit will materialize on January 31st. But if Johnson doesn’t make it, every aspect will have to be re-evaluated and chaos will once again become the only certainty.