As of November 27, 2024, the ETA form will be available to 48 non-European nationalities. From the 8th of January 2025, travelers with one of these nationalities will need to apply for an ETA to be able to travel to the United Kingdom. The ETA will also be mandatory for European travelers as of April 2, 2025.
Advantages of the ETA
Several years have been necessary to implement the ETA for the UK. The reinforcement of border controls has become a priority for the British authorities, due to the fact that the country is no longer a member of the EU. The ETA will enable the British authorities to have a better control over who enters and leaves the country. This will improve the security of the country, as well as the security of flights to the UK. As a matter of fact, the ETA must be approved by the UK authorities before travel takes place. From January and April 2025, many travelers will only be able to check in for their flights to the UK if they have a valid ETA or visa.
A simple application procedure
It is important to bear in mind that, officially, the ETA is neither a visa nor an electronic visa. In most cases, nationalities that were subject to the visa requirement before the introduction of the ETA will still need a visa. Only travelers from countries with no visa requirement are eligible for the ETA.
The obligation to apply for an ETA may seem to be an obstacle for travelers. However, in practice, it is probably not a problem. The ETA can be applied for online in just a couple of minutes. In other words, there is no need to go to the embassy or consulate. In the application form you need to indicate some information, especially personal data, such as your passport details, and your travel itinerary in the UK. You also need to upload a good quality identity photo and a scan or photograph of your passport.
Once approved, the ETA UK is valid for two years. The ETA allows you to travel multiple times to the different nations of the United Kingdom. Each stay can last up to six months.
Introduction of the ETA in several phases
The ETA will be introduced progressively. From November 2023, citizens of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates can already apply for the ETA. The ETA will become mandatory for European travelers only as of April 2, 2025. On March 5, 2025, the application form will be made available to these travelers.
Since November 27, 2024, many nationalities (for instance citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Japan), will need to apply for an ETA. Furthermore, many Central and South American countries are now also eligible for the ETA. Although travellers from these countries can already use the form, the ETA will only be mandatory for them as of January 8, 2025. Therefore, travelers from the above-mentioned countries can travel without an ETA to the UK until January 8.