UK ends visa-free travel arrangement with Jordan amid US migration concerns

The British government will scrap a visa-free travel arrangement for citizens of Jordan, according to the Jordanian foreign ministry.

In a statement sent to Middle East Eye, Jordanian officials said British consular officials had notified them of their decision to cancel the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system for Jordanian citizens as of 10 September.

The ETA system allowed Jordanian citizens to apply for an effective visa waiver, which allowed them entry into the UK for visits over the course of two years.

Officials said they had been informed by British Home Secretary Yvetter Cooper that the cancellation was due to the “misuse” of the procedure.

Earlier, Middle East Eye had obtained a letter sent from Amman’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to King Abdullah’s office, warning of “Britain’s intention to stop working with the electronic permits (ETA) system as of 10/9/2024”.

The correspondence itself references Cooper’s earlier notification to the Jordanians informing them of the changes to the visa regimen.

According to Safadi’s letter, a transitional period of 28 days will be honoured for Jordanians who already have a permit and have already booked travel to the UK.

It also says the UK had informed officials in Amman that the number of Jordanian citizens claiming asylum in the UK and Ireland was increasing and that organised criminal groups in both European states were exploiting the visa arrangements to facilitate their human trafficking operations.

Jordanians are reportedly using the UK as a transit point to reach the United States through Latin America.

Turkey, which does not require a visa for Jordanian nationals, and the UK are favoured hubs for Jordanians trying to reach the US.

One route involves arriving in the UK or Turkey and then leaving for the Central American state of Nicaragua before moving north through Mexico to the US border.

Other allegations contained in the letter include the claim that Jordanian nationals had claimed asylum in Ireland while purporting to be Palestinian citizens.

Since February 2024, Jordanians have been able to travel to the UK for visits using the ETA system, which costs £10 ($13 or eight Jordanian dinars).

The application is usually approved within three days of submission.

Large numbers of Jordanians travelled to the UK hoping to make the onward journey to Central America, where they would pay human traffickers sums of up to $12,000 in the hopes of crossing into the US.