The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme is being rolled out to travellers from 48 countries from tomorrow (January 8) – including many destinations which do not currently need a visa to visit the UK, such as Australia, Canada and the USA.
Millions of travellers are set to be impacted by the change, with an ETA required even for passengers transiting without crossing the UK border. The change does not apply to British or Irish citizens, including those with dual citizenship, or for those who already have a visa or have permission to live, work or study in the UK.
Comparable to the USA’s ESTA, the ETA is not a visa, and will only be available to travellers from certain destinations. Part of a phased roll-out, ETAs are already available for travellers from the GCC countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The application costs £10, and you should receive a decision on your application within three working days. An ETA is valid for two years, and applicants may visit the UK as many times as they wish within that time.
From January 8, travellers from the following destinations will need to apply online for an Electronic Travel Authorisation before travelling to the UK: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including British national overseas), Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Macao Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan (if you have a passport issued by Taiwan that includes in it the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan), Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United States and Uruguay.
The Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme will further be rolled out to the following countries from April 2: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican City.
Applications for ETAs for European countries will open from March 5.
The visa waiver programme will only apply for certain kinds of travel, including visits of up to six months for tourism, family and friend visits, business and short-term study.
Travellers from the above countries will also need to apply for an ETA if transiting through the UK, even if they do not intend to pass border control.
You can find out more about the scheme on the UK government website here.