US climbdown over passport demands

The UK industry has welcomed a move by the US to delay its demands that European countries issue biometric passports after October 26.

The climbdown comes after increasing pressure from the European Union which insisted its member countries needed more time to introduce the high-tech documentation, which includes fingerprint and other personal data.

The move has saved thousands of UK tourists from delays as they applied for face-to-face interviews with Embassy officials in order to obtain a visa.

ABTA and the Guild of Travel Management Companies both described the move as an “excellent development.”

The extension of the deadline, until October 26, 2006, will apply to 27, mainly European nations, participating in a special visa waiver scheme. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan are also part of the scheme.

Initially, the US insisted all new passports issued after October this year must be biometric. Those issued with old-style passports would require a visa, raising the prospect of delays.

GMTC chief executive Philip Carlisle said the October deadline this year could have caused severe problems for business travellers.

“We very much welcome the news,” he said. “Those without biometric passports would have needed to obtain a visa and that can only now be done in person with an appointment at the US Embassy. It is a time consuming process.”

Business travellers needing to travel at very short notice to the US would have stood an “almost zero” chance of obtaining a visa in time, Carlisle added.

ABTA said it was “delighted” at the development.

“This is exactly what we wanted and is a result of the combined lobbying efforts of the association, Passport Office, Foreign Office and other bodies,” a spokeswoman said. “The UK was not ready to provide comprehensive biometric passports at this stage.”

Had the US persisted with its 2005 deadline, “potentially hundreds of thousands” of tourists would have needed face-to-face interviews at the Embassy.

US officials had also come under intense pressure from its own travel industry which feared losing billion of dollars if travellers were put off travelling to the US.

Travel Industry Association of America president and chief executive Roger J Dow said: “This means millions of overseas visitors from our biggest markets can continue to travel here visa-free. It is critical to our nation’s economy, our diplomatic efforts with key allies and it helps to enhance our image abroad.”

Report by Steve Jones