UK Government expands ETA scheme to European visitors
UK's Government announced (05-Mar-2025) the "last major step in the rollout" of the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme, expanding the scheme to European visitors. Eligible applicants will require an ETA to travel to the UK, effective 02-Apr-2025. The expansion follows the successful rollout of ETAs to all eligible non-European nationals in 2024, which includes visitors from the US, Canada and Australia. Almost 1.1 million visitors have been issued with ETAs so far. [more - original PR]
Background ✨
The UK's electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme was set to expand to European visitors, requiring citizens like Estonians and Poles to apply for ETAs from 05-Mar-2025 for travel starting 02-Apr-20251 2. The ETA fee was proposed to increase to GBP16, aligning with border security practices of countries like the US and Australia3. IATA's director general criticised the fee increase as detrimental to tourism competitiveness4.