September 12 () –
The UK government has announced an extension of the number of travellers required to obtain an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to enter the country, meaning that tourists from EU countries will need this document to enter British territory from April 2025.
The ETA is designed as a registration system for tourists from countries that do not require a visa and is currently only applicable to travellers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The idea is to extend it to all non-European travellers from 8 January 2025 – they will be able to start applying for registration on 27 November this year – and, in the case of Europeans, the change will come into effect on 2 April – the ETA can be requested from 5 March.
The registration, similar to the one already in place for the United States, will be linked to the passport and costs 10 pounds (about 11.8 euros at the current exchange rate). It will be valid for two years, unless the passport expires earlier, and will allow stays of up to six months in the United Kingdom.
The Secretary of State for Migration, Seema Malhotra, has advocated moving towards “a modern immigration system” by taking advantage of technology, since “digitalisation facilitates a simple experience for the millions of people who cross the border every year.”
In a statement, Malhotra stressed that the United Kingdom remains open to tourism, a sector that will contribute more than 32 billion pounds (around 38 billion euros) to the British economy this year.
The EU is also working on its own registration system for non-Schengen travellers, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), whose launch has been delayed and is not expected until spring next year.
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