Back in September, we let y’all know that the United Kingdom was planning to expand its electronic visa waiver program. Whereas citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have had to fill out this ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) form since 2023, the UK government announced earlier this year that the program was going to be expanded to include citizens from these countries (boldface type is mine):
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Canada
- Chile
- 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
ETA applications are now available
The actual requirement to have an ETA won’t begin until January 8, 2025 (or as they say in the UK, 8 January, 2025). However, effective today, November 27th, people from the above countries can apply for their ETA. Once someone has their ETA, it will be good for 2 years.
Who needs an ETA?
You can get an ETA instead of a visa if you are:
- going to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or short-term study
- going to the UK for up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession
- going to the UK for a permitted paid engagement
- transiting through the UK – even if you are not passing through UK border control
It costs £10 (about US$12.50) to apply and is non-refundable. Everyone traveling will need to get an ETA, including babies and children. You can apply for other people.
What about all the other countries in the world?
Citizens of several other countries will need an ETA starting April 2, 2025, but applications open on March 5, 2025. Eventually, all travelers to the UK – except British and Irish citizens – will need permission to travel in advance through either an ETA or an eVisa.
How do I apply for an ETA?
You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play.
Click here for more information about U.S. citizens requiring an ETA to enter the UK. And here is a press release from the UK government regarding the system going “live” for Americans and people from those other countries listed above.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
Just applied for this new visa as I have a visit to UK in February. The Apple app did not work for my I-Pad. Only I-phones were listed as compatible. Went ahead & loaded the Google app to my Google phone which did work. Took me about 10 tries to get my passport to scan. Had to remove phone case & even then I could only get it to scan from the back of the passport. Afterwards, another few try’s to capture my photo. Then all went through except payment. That seems to be hung up in limbo. Guess I’ll see if it worked or not in a bit.
The process itself is well instructed…just a learning curve at the user end