EU and US citizens will have to apply for £10 travel permits to enter the UK from next year, as part of sweeping changes designed to strengthen border security.
Under the new rules, set out in government documents published on Tuesday, all visitors to the UK who do not require a visa will have to apply for digital permission to travel to the country.
The electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme is loosely modelled on the US Esta programme. A permit costs £10, allows the traveller to take multiple journeys and is valid for two years or until the holder’s passport expires.
The scheme is being gradually phased in, and has been trialled with nationals travelling to the UK from seven Middle Eastern countries: Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Visitors from more than 40 countries and territories including the US, Australia, Japan, Israel and Hong Kong will be included from January 8 2025, the documents said.
The list will then be expanded to include EU nationals on April 2, although Irish citizens will be exempt. Travellers who require a visa to travel to the UK now will still need to obtain one.
Seema Malhotra, minister for migration and citizenship, said: “The worldwide expansion of the ETA demonstrates our commitment to enhance security through new technology and embedding a modern immigration system.”
Transfer passengers who are changing flights at a UK airport without ever entering the country must also apply for an ETA.
Britain’s biggest airport Heathrow last month warned that it had lost 90,000 transfer passengers on routes operating to and from the seven Middle Eastern countries included in the scheme since its introduction in 2023.
“This is devastating for our hub competitiveness. We urge government to review the inclusion of airside transit passengers,” it said at the time.
EU and UK citizens have been caught in increased border formalities since frictionless travel disappeared with the implementation of the Brexit deal at the end of 2020, four years after the referendum.
Visitors already face stringent passport checks at UK and EU borders, which have caused bouts of disruption for Eurostar and the Channel ports.
UK citizens will also be caught up in new EU biometric border checks, which are due to be introduced in November. A separate EU visa waiver programme, similar to the UK ETA, is due to be rolled out in 2025.
