1 November 2024
By April 2025, anyone wishing to travel to, or transit through, the UK will require permission in advance. Permission can be granted by way of an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) or Visa. This will exclude British citizens (which includes British Overseas Territories citizens) and Irish citizens.
New ETA implementation dates have been announced by the UK Government:
| Travellers | Can start applying for entry via ETA from: | Can start travelling with an ETA from: |
| Non-Europeans | 27 November 2024 | 8 January 2025 |
| Europeans | 5 March 2025 | 2 April 2025 |
Over the next six months, ETAs will be rolled out to an additional 83 non-visa nationalities.
ETAs cost £10 and are linked digitally to a traveller’s passport. All ETAs are valid for two years (or until the expiry of the traveller’s passport) and permit multiple entries into the UK for up to 6 months at a time. The new approach will allow more robust checks to be carried out on all people travelling to the UK.
Further details, including a list of eligible nationalities, ETA processing times and additional instructions, are available on GOV.UK. at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-when-you-can-get-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta.
#StHelena #ElectronicTravelAuthorisation