THE LATEST NEWS ON THE ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORITY (ETA)
By April 2025, there will no longer be any visa free travel to the UK. Those nationalities who have been able to visit the UK without applying for a visa, will now have to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority, or an ETA. This is similar to the US ESTA or Australian ETA.
Visa nationals will still have to apply for a full visit visa.
An ETA will cost £10 and be valid for 2 years, or until your passport expires, whichever is the shorter period. It will take on average around 3 days to process, so do not leave it until the very last minute. If you are planning any travel to the UK early next year, I would get your ETA application in sooner rather than later to ensure there are no delays.
You do not need an ETA if you have any of these:
- a valid visa
- permission to live, work or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme)
- a British or Irish passport
- a British overseas territories citizen passport
You do not need an ETA if you live in Ireland and you’re travelling from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man. You must be able to prove you are legally resident.
You should apply now if you’re a national of:
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- 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
- Uruguay
The following nationals must have an ETA if they are going to arrive in the UK on or after 2 April 2025. You can download the app and apply from the 5 March 2025. Go the the GOV.UK website for more details.
- 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
Photo by Mark Roberts