Airline passengers at the arrivals hall at Heathrow Airport in London, England, on Friday, December 23, 2022.
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Britain will require all passengers who do not need visa approval to apply for a digital travel authorization before entering the country, in a move seen as the biggest shake-up of border force rules in decades.
Passport holders currently arriving in the country without pre-vetting – including EU, US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other nationalities – must all apply for and pay for an Electronic Travel Authorization by the end of 2024.
British and Irish nationals and people with settled status in the UK will be exempt from the scheme.
The government says the scheme will strengthen border security and is comparable to those used by countries such as the US and Canada. Britain has previously said that under current rules it does not have accurate data on the number of people entering and leaving the country.
The cost of the ETA has not been confirmed but is expected to be in the same range as the scheme. The US Electronic System for Travel Authorization costs $21.
The European Union is set to launch its own digital travel authorization scheme, called ETIAS, for visa-free nationals in 2024. It will allow unlimited travel for up to 90 days within a 180-day period in 30 countries.
Travelers from several countries will have smoother access to the UK The scheme will be launched for Qatari citizens in November where it will replace the Electronic Visa Waiver Scheme, and expand to Jordanian citizens in February 2024.
However, it will mark a significant change for many travelers from Europe and elsewhere who currently only need to show their passports on arrival.
Applications will be made online or through the application. Holders of the biometric passport will scan it with their phone, and will also need to take a “dynamic selfie,” which involves movement, to submit an image of their face.
They will be processed automatically, with a decision made within three days. Some applications will be processed faster. If approved, the ETA will be valid for multiple visits within two years. Travelers with an ETA will continue to be able to use the e-passport gate on arrival.
Anyone arriving at the UK border by air or rail without an ETA will be refused entry, including those arriving via Ireland but who are not Irish or British citizens.
The government previously said it expected 30 million ETA applications a year.
It is understood that the UK has ambitions to eventually require all travelers to submit their fingerprint biometrics before traveling and is working on a scheme that will be carried out by smartphones.