Dates announced for UK Electronic Travel Authorisation expansion

04 October 2024

If you are a business inviting visitors to the UK or an individual visiting (or transiting through) the UK, you may be affected by the UK’s recently-announced plans to expand its electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme for non-visa nationals.

The UK Government has gradually been rolling-out ETAs since 15 November 2023. We now have confirmation the scheme will be expanded in two further stages, starting on 8 January 2025 and 2 April 2025.

Once the scheme is fully implemented in April 2025, ETAs will become a pre-entry requirement for everyone who doesn’t require a visa to enter the UK and who doesn’t have any existing UK immigration permission (or exemption from immigration control). ETAs cost £10 and last for two years or until your passport expires, whichever happens first. See our earlier article to find out more about the basics of ETAs.

What are the main impacts of this development?

For businesses:

If you finance the expenses of business visitors to your organisation in the UK, you may need to adjust your budget to reflect the £10 cost of ETAs.

For travellers:

If you are a non-visa national currently able to visit the UK without any pre-entry formalities, you should:

Understand when the ETA requirement will start to apply to you;
Factor the additional process and cost into your UK travel plans;
When required, make sure that you get (or, during the implementation period, at least apply for) an ETA in good time before travelling to the UK;
Be aware that larger-scale rollout of the new system may initially cause some queuing delays when visiting the UK, and consider packing additional food, water and medications;
Be aware that you may be refused an ETA in certain circumstances, for example if:

You have a current UK deportation or exclusion order;
You have a significant criminal history;
You have previously overstayed in the UK; or
You have outstanding debts to the UK; and

Be aware that if you are not eligible for an ETA or have one refused, you may need to apply for a visa to visit the UK.

Who will need an ETA?

Nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council states already need an ETA

The ETA system already applies to nationals of:

Bahrain;
Kuwait;
Oman;
Qatar;
Saudi Arabia; and
United Arab Emirates.

Non-European nationals need an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025 onwards

You can apply from 27 November 2024. Non-European countries include:

Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Canada
Chile
Columbia
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)
The Bahamas
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
United States of America
Uruguay

European nationals need an ETA to travel from 2 April 2025

You can apply from 5 March 2025. European countries and micro-states include:

Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Vatican City

Why can’t citizens of Jordan get an ETA anymore?

Jordanian citizens were previously eligible for an ETA, but as of 10 September 2024, they were added to the UK’s visa national list. This means they stopped being eligible for an ETA.

If you are Jordanian, you must now apply for a visa to visit the UK instead. However, if you were granted an ETA and have a confirmed travel booking before 15:00 BST on 10 September 2024, you can still use this for travel due to arrive in the UK by 15:00 BST on 8 October 2024.

When should I apply, and what happens if I forget?

Once the ETA requirement applies to your nationality, you should ensure you apply for one before you travel to the UK. Current government guidance suggests ETAs are normally processed within three working days, however can take longer.

During an initial ‘implementation period’, it will be possible to travel to the UK with a pending ETA application, even if this has not yet been decided. Once this has ended, it will be necessary to have an approved ETA before travelling.

Before you travel, check your carrier’s requirements for ETA.

Need some more help?

If you have a specific question about ETAs, or if you would like a copy of our ‘ETA toolkit for employers’, get in touch with a member of our Immigration team.