The UK government has announced an increase in the number of travellers who will need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the country, so that tourists from EU countries You will need this document to enter British territory from April 2025.
The ETA is designed as a registration system for tourists coming from countries for which a visa is not required and currently only requires travelers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The idea is to extend it to everyone non-European travelers from January 8, 2025 – they will be able to start applying for registration on November 27 of this year – and, in the case of Europeans, the change will come into force on April 2 – the ETA can be requested from March 5 -.
Registration, similar to the one that already exists for the United Stateswill be linked to the passport and costs 10 pounds (around 11.8 euros at the current exchange rate). will have a validity of two yearsunless the passport expires before, and will allow stays up to six months in the United Kingdom.
Secretary of State for Migration Seema Malhotra has advocated moving towards “a modern immigration system” leveraging technology, because “digitization facilitates a simple experience for the millions of people who cross the border each year.”
Malhotra stressed in a statement that the UK remains open to tourism, a sector that will contribute more than £32 billion (around €38 billion) to the British economy this year.
The EU is also working on its own registration method for travelers outside the Schengen areathe European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), the launch of which has been delayed and is now not expected until spring next year.
