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Belgians must pay £16 to enter the UK. Strictly enforced as of this month. (europe.pub)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/Belgium
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So, I take it the UK does not want our tourism.

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[–] 1 point 7 months ago* (1 child)

Meh USA has had this for decades, as a UK citizen I've had to pay $6-20 (inflation) to have them stamp my passport upon entry with a Visa Waiver stamp. (Lasts 90 days)

I don't see the issue that people want to make of this.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 7 months ago

    The US demands social media accounts to snoop through as part of the travel authorsation procedure. Someone coming from a developing country got the opportunity of a lifetime: entry into an Ivy league university like Harvard. When he landed in the US, ICE could not find any dirt on him. So they snooped through the social media comments of his /friends/. One of his friends said something critical of the US. So the guy was denied entry. Harvard was blocked.

    If you claim to have no social media accounts, they don’t believe you. And they don’t have to. Border control has discretion to bounce any non-citizen they want.

    I’m not sure what snooping the UK does but the cost alone is a deterrant for me.

    The travel auth is required just for passing through a country. So a Moroccan whose route stops in Madrid, then London, then New York, before landing in Canada, will have to pay: €20+£16+$21, despite not staying in any of those places. There are 3 opportunities in that case for a country to find something disloyal they in the traveler’s social media acct. If blocked, is there a refund? No. It’s a gamble of both time and money. For security theatre.

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