Visitors to the United States will have to fill in an online form 48 hours before travelling under proposals to tighten up security in the wake of terrorism plots.

Although no visa is required for short-stay tourists from Britain and 26 other countries, the US authorities want extra time to check details currently provided upon arrival on a paper visa waiver form or sent electronically by airlines as the flight is about to depart.

The online form is expected to ask whether the visitor has a communicable disease or has ever taken part in “genocide, espionage, sabotage or terrorist activity”.

Visa waiver applicants are also asked whether they are drug abusers, have a physical or mental disorder or whether they have been arrested or convicted for an offence involving moral turpitude or a controlled substance.

Michael Chertoff, the US Homeland Security Secretary, told a meeting in Brussels that details of the system had yet to be agreed by Congress.

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