European visitors to the United Kingdom will need a new online entry permit on Wednesday while the British government has long-standing travel rules.
European travelers will now need a digital electronic travel authorization permit (ETA), which British officials said they were taking place to stimulate security and rationalize the entry processes.
There will be a buffer period that could last several months.
The permit can be purchased online in the coming days for £ 10 (12 euros), but the price increases quickly from April 9 to £ 16.
ETA has already been introduced for American, Canadian nationals and other visa to visit the United Kingdom, which left the European Union in 2020.
The head of the United Kingdom’s border force, Phil Douglas said that the last deployment was part of a wider plan to bring ETA for visitors around the world.
“This program is essentially a border security measure,” he said, adding that he did not expect Wednesday’s launch to cause disruption.
The license would accelerate the entry times and allow managers to verify the information, including the background of immigration or the criminal record of a traveler, he said.
“The counterpart for the individual, however, is that we build a contactless border, so if they are allowed to have entered, they will be able to use our new Egates and that they will be able to go through the border much faster,” he added.
“People will always be able to get on planes and trains while this introductory period will take place,” he said, referring to the buffer period, adding that it was to last several months, until “September or October”.
The permit allows visits to six months. It is digitally linked to the applicant’s passport and is valid for two years.
The application, which can be made on a smartphone application or via the government’s website, has been open to Europeans since the beginning of March. It applies to nationals of the thirty European countries, including all those of the European Union, with the exception of Ireland.
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The applicant will have to provide a photo of his passport and their face. The process lasts about 10 minutes, according to the home office of the United Kingdom.
In most cases, a request for a request is made in a few minutes, but the government recommends allowing up to three working days.
It will be necessary for babies and children, but the flight passengers who pass without crossing the British border are exempt from the program after the pressure of Heathrow which feared a loss of passenger passing by the most frequented airport in Europe.
Nearly 84 million passengers crossed Heathrow in 2024 – a third of the neighboring EU.
The program was launched for the first time in 2023 for Qatar, before being extended to five regional Gulf neighbors.
In January, it was extended to nationals of around 50 other countries and territories, notably Argentina, South Korea and New Zealand.
Almost 1.1 million visitors received ETAs before the end of 2024, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
It does not apply to British residents or anyone who already has an immigration status in the United Kingdom.
ETA reflects the ETIA scheme for national visa nationals traveling in 30 European countries, including France and Germany, which was delayed until 2026.
