| Electronic Travel Authorisation if coming in to the UK Posted by grahame at 13:41, 27th November 2024 |     |
For visitors to the UK from other countries - sharing this for Coffee Shop members as it's rather the opposite information to what we normally see, which relates to what we need to visit the continent rather than what people from the continent and further afield need to visit us.
We can’t wait to welcome you on board for your holiday. To help you prepare, we wanted to let you know about an imminent change to UK travel requirements that will impact EU and non-EU citizens.
Please note, these changes don’t affect British or Irish citizens travelling on a British or Irish passport. If you’re a dual citizen with British or Irish citizenship, you won’t need an ETA for your holiday if you travel to the UK on a British or Irish passport, or a passport containing an eligible certificate of entitlement.
If you don’t have a British or Irish passport:
>From 2025, you may need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before you travel so you can visit or transit through the UK.
These new rules apply to both EU and non-EU citizens, including babies and children aged under 18, who don’t need a visa for short stays or don’t have UK immigration status, from the following dates:
Non-EU nationals
ETA applications for eligible non-EU nationals are now open. ETAs for non-EU nationals are required for travel to the UK from 8 January 2025.
Nationals from Gulf Cooperation Council countries
It’s already a requirement for nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council countries to have an ETA to travel to the UK.
EU nationals
ETA applications for eligible EU nationals can be submitted from 5 March 2025. ETAs for EU nationals will be needed for travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.
For more information on obtaining an ETA for your holiday, visit the official UK government website or watch this video about ETA applications. We recommend familiarising yourself with this information to ensure you have all the correct paperwork needed for your holiday.
Please note that an ETA is not a visa and it doesn’t guarantee entry into the UK – instead it authorises an individual to travel to the UK. If you don’t obtain an ETA for your holiday, you may be denied entry to the UK or boarding at the cruise terminal at your own expense. Your ETA will be checked, so you’ll need to present evidence such as a screenshot or a printout of your ETA when asked.
All information in this email reflects UK government guidance in place on 27 November 2024. Please check the UK government website for the most up-to-date information before you travel.
Please note, these changes don’t affect British or Irish citizens travelling on a British or Irish passport. If you’re a dual citizen with British or Irish citizenship, you won’t need an ETA for your holiday if you travel to the UK on a British or Irish passport, or a passport containing an eligible certificate of entitlement.
If you don’t have a British or Irish passport:
>From 2025, you may need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before you travel so you can visit or transit through the UK.
These new rules apply to both EU and non-EU citizens, including babies and children aged under 18, who don’t need a visa for short stays or don’t have UK immigration status, from the following dates:
Non-EU nationals
ETA applications for eligible non-EU nationals are now open. ETAs for non-EU nationals are required for travel to the UK from 8 January 2025.
Nationals from Gulf Cooperation Council countries
It’s already a requirement for nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council countries to have an ETA to travel to the UK.
EU nationals
ETA applications for eligible EU nationals can be submitted from 5 March 2025. ETAs for EU nationals will be needed for travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.
For more information on obtaining an ETA for your holiday, visit the official UK government website or watch this video about ETA applications. We recommend familiarising yourself with this information to ensure you have all the correct paperwork needed for your holiday.
Please note that an ETA is not a visa and it doesn’t guarantee entry into the UK – instead it authorises an individual to travel to the UK. If you don’t obtain an ETA for your holiday, you may be denied entry to the UK or boarding at the cruise terminal at your own expense. Your ETA will be checked, so you’ll need to present evidence such as a screenshot or a printout of your ETA when asked.
All information in this email reflects UK government guidance in place on 27 November 2024. Please check the UK government website for the most up-to-date information before you travel.
As even, rules is complex so check things out for your own needs. And this email quoted is from a cruise company - but Eurostar, le Shuttle, ferries and airports will be the same.
| Re: Electronic Travel Authorisation if coming in to the UK Posted by ChrisB at 14:04, 27th November 2024 | |
There will be an app that can be used to apply from & store the ETA in. Apparently very simple to upload ID & make payment of £10. It's valid, I think, for 3 years for many visits of up to 6 months each.
| Re: Electronic Travel Authorisation if coming in to the UK Posted by Ralph Ayres at 14:14, 27th November 2024 | |
As someone who rarely bothers with this foreign travel malarkey (and yes, I know it doesn't apply to me anyway as a UK citizen), I find it odd that modern smart electronic passports don't already hold all the relevant information. It would perhaps make more sense if you had to log your intended travel mode and UK arrival and departure place/date for a specific visit, but without that it just seems like pointless bureaucracy.
| Re: Electronic Travel Authorisation if coming in to the UK Posted by Oxonhutch at 20:41, 27th November 2024 | |
I have a feeling that this is straightforward reciprocity to the EU ESTA now applying to us. Just another Brexit benefit.
| Re: Electronic Travel Authorisation if coming in to the UK Posted by ChrisB at 21:19, 27th November 2024 | |
And the USA equivalent of many years standing
| Re: Electronic Travel Authorisation if coming in to the UK Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:05, 17th February 2026 | |
An update, from the BBC:
Dual nationals face scramble for UK passports as new rules come into force
When Jelena returns home from a "holiday of a lifetime" travelling around South America later this year, she faces being told she can no longer enter the UK.
The British-Latvian dual national is among those who say they have been caught out by upcoming changes to passport rules for dual nationals, which are due to kick in on 25 February.
Entry requirements for dual nationals are being overhauled as part of sweeping changes to the immigration system the government says will streamline and modernise the UK border.
But for Jelena, who has lived in the UK for 16 years, the changes are a "betrayal", and others in the same situation have told BBC News the prospect of being denied entry is causing anger and concern.
Here are how the new rules will work - and why Jelena and others like her are furious about it.
Under the existing rules, a British dual national - whose other nationality is from a country not subject to a UK visa requirement - could travel to the UK using their foreign passport. But from 25 February that will no longer be the case.
Instead, they will need to show either a British passport, or a new digital version of the certificate of entitlement to attach to their second nationality passport - and without one of them, they could face being denied the right to travel back to the UK.
Neither British passports or certificates of entitlement are automatically issued to people who obtain citizenship, which means some dual nationals have never applied for them, even if they have lived in the UK for decades.
Both documents take several weeks to obtain and there are costs too. A British passport costs around £100 for an adult, while the certificate of entitlement costs £589.
These new rules for dual nationals are linked to the roll out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system this month, a major immigration reform which will require visitors to the UK who do not have a visa to apply for a £16 entry document before arriving.
Dual nationals cannot apply for an ETA and must meet the new documentation requirements instead, with checks now carried out by airlines when departing en route back to the UK.
The new rules do not apply to Irish passport holders but other EU citizens will be affected.
According to the latest census in 2021, 1.2% of UK-born residents were UK-other dual citizens (587,600) and 6.5% of non-UK-born residents were UK-other dual citizens (648,700).
The government has said the reforms bring the UK's immigration system into line with countries like the US and Australia. But critics say the looming deadline and a lack of communication around the changes have left people scrambling to apply for new documents, with dual nationals who are out of the country on holiday or visiting family facing the prospect of being stranded until they can acquire a passport or the certificate.
(BBC article continues)
When Jelena returns home from a "holiday of a lifetime" travelling around South America later this year, she faces being told she can no longer enter the UK.
The British-Latvian dual national is among those who say they have been caught out by upcoming changes to passport rules for dual nationals, which are due to kick in on 25 February.
Entry requirements for dual nationals are being overhauled as part of sweeping changes to the immigration system the government says will streamline and modernise the UK border.
But for Jelena, who has lived in the UK for 16 years, the changes are a "betrayal", and others in the same situation have told BBC News the prospect of being denied entry is causing anger and concern.
Here are how the new rules will work - and why Jelena and others like her are furious about it.
Under the existing rules, a British dual national - whose other nationality is from a country not subject to a UK visa requirement - could travel to the UK using their foreign passport. But from 25 February that will no longer be the case.
Instead, they will need to show either a British passport, or a new digital version of the certificate of entitlement to attach to their second nationality passport - and without one of them, they could face being denied the right to travel back to the UK.
Neither British passports or certificates of entitlement are automatically issued to people who obtain citizenship, which means some dual nationals have never applied for them, even if they have lived in the UK for decades.
Both documents take several weeks to obtain and there are costs too. A British passport costs around £100 for an adult, while the certificate of entitlement costs £589.
These new rules for dual nationals are linked to the roll out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system this month, a major immigration reform which will require visitors to the UK who do not have a visa to apply for a £16 entry document before arriving.
Dual nationals cannot apply for an ETA and must meet the new documentation requirements instead, with checks now carried out by airlines when departing en route back to the UK.
The new rules do not apply to Irish passport holders but other EU citizens will be affected.
According to the latest census in 2021, 1.2% of UK-born residents were UK-other dual citizens (587,600) and 6.5% of non-UK-born residents were UK-other dual citizens (648,700).
The government has said the reforms bring the UK's immigration system into line with countries like the US and Australia. But critics say the looming deadline and a lack of communication around the changes have left people scrambling to apply for new documents, with dual nationals who are out of the country on holiday or visiting family facing the prospect of being stranded until they can acquire a passport or the certificate.
(BBC article continues)
