Visitors from EU or US will need £10 travel permit
Visitors to Britain from either America or the European Union will have to get a £10 travel permit to enter starting from 2025. The previous government introduced the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system in November 2023 for anyone entering or transiting through the UK without either legal residence rights or a visa.
They are currently required for all visitors from Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that the scheme will be open in November for all other nationals except Europeans and will be required for visitors starting from 8th January, 2025. It will be extended to European nationals in March 2025 and be a travel requirement for them from the 2nd April, 2025.
“Once fully rolled out, the ETA scheme will close the current gap in advance permissions and mean that for the first time, we will have a comprehensive understanding of those travelling to the UK,” Cooper said in a written statement before the House of Commons.
ETAs are digitally linked to a person’s passport. The Home Office said that it will ensure “more robust security checks are carried out before people begin their journey to the UK”, in order to prevent any “abuse of our immigration system”.
Every ETA will allow for multiple journeys to the UK for anyone staying up to six months at a time over two years or until a holder’s passport expires, whichever comes first.
Heathrow airport said that the ETA scheme had resulted in a 90,000 fall in transfer passenger numbers on routes that were included in the system from launch. The programme, it said, was “devastating for our hub competitiveness” as it urged the government to “review” the inclusion of transit passengers.
A “transition period” of four weeks will be put in place for those who already hold an ETA and have confirmed their travel bookings.
