New £1.2bn e-Borders scheme means boaters will have to check in when leaving or entering the UK
Boaters will soon have to check in and out of the UK every time they make an international voyage, MBM has learned.
From 2010, under the Government’s new £1.2bn e-Borders scheme, leisure boaters will be required to submit “detailed passenger, service and crew data in advance of their departure to and from the UK”.
This will be done through a “web application, a web form or electronic file upload”, the Home Office told MBM.
This will effectively put an end to impromptu trips across the Channel, and will prove a headache for boaters who do not have access to the internet.
The purpose of the e-Borders programme, the Home Office said, was to “radically modernize” border controls in light of “the continuing growth in passenger numbers and increased threats from illegal migration, terrorism and organised crime”.
Make sure you pick up January’s MBM (out 20 December) for the full story.
Photo: Returning home from the continent will mean a red tape headache for some boaters
