UK implements new travel requirements for visitors from 48 countries — here’s all you need to know

Travelers may have been spared from Europe’s new entrance fee in 2024, but they won’t be able to avoid it any longer.

After delays on the European Union’s ETIAS visa waiver, or European Travel Information and Authorisation System, it’s now on track to officially roll out in 2025.

The ETIAS is an entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals traveling to 30 European countries, including France, Italy, Germany, Greece and Spain.

But on Wednesday, Jan. 8, before ETIAS officially starts, the UK will introduce an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) system, which is a digital registration for U.S., Canadian and many non-European passport holders who do not have a valid visa to enter or travel through the UK.

Rather than just having a passport to present when landing, tourists will now also need pre-travel authorization to get on a plane to the UK.

ETA — which is equivalent to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) in the U.S. — is a mandatory, paid-for approval that pre-clears travelers for entry prior to getting on the plane.

The digital registration scheme is for “short” visits of less than six months for tourism and business, as well as short-term study and permitted paid engagements, according to the ETA website.

Travelers from 48 countries, including the U.S. and Canada, will need an ETA to enter the UK starting on Jan. 8. However, EU citizens will only need one beginning April 2, and citizens of those countries who are UK residents won’t need an ETA.

It should be noted that the ETA is not a visa — it’s a visa waiver. So travelers whose citizenship requires a visa to enter the UK will still need to apply for one, though they won’t need an ETA.

You will need an ETA if you are:

• coming to the UK for up to six months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or short-term study
• coming to the UK for up to three months on the Creative Worker visa concession
• coming to the UK for a permitted paid engagement
• transiting through the UK – including if you are not going through UK border control

You do not need an ETA if:

• you have a visa
• you have permission to live, work or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status or right of abode)
• you are a British or Irish citizen
• you are traveling with a British overseas-territories citizen passport
• you live in Ireland and you are traveling from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man
• you have dual British or Irish citizenship

An ETA will not allow you to do the following:

• stay in the UK for longer than six months
• do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, unless you are doing a permitted paid engagement or event or work on the Creative Worker visa concession
• claim public funds (benefits)
• live in the UK through frequent or successive visits
• marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership

Those planning to travel to the UK can apply for an ETA through the official app listed on the UK government website or directly online. The cost is a non-refundable fee of 10 euros (just above $10), and you will need to upload or take photos of your passport and a photo of your face.

Applying online takes about 20 minutes, and a decision will typically be given within three working days, though the government noted that it could occasionally take longer.

Once you get an email confirming you have received an ETA, it will be linked to your passport and lasts for two years, allowing tourists to travel to the UK as many times as they want during that time.

An ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK, though. You will still need to either see a Border Force officer or use an ePassport gate.