Tourists of 89 nationalities will need to pay new £10 fee to enter the UK
Most visitors visiting the UK from abroad will have to pay a new fee to enter the UK from 2025. The news comes after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a scheme which requires non-visa travellers to the UK to pay £10 will be expanded to most countries around the world.
The electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system, which was previously introduced by the former Conservative government in November 2023, is only required for Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan nationals visiting the UK. But from January 8, 2025, all other nationals, except for Europeans, will be required to have an ETA to enter the country, according to MirrorOnline.
The programme will be extended to European nationals in March 2025, becoming a travel requirement for them from April 2, 2025. In a written statement to the House of Commons, the Home Secretary said: “Once fully rolled out, the ETA scheme will close the current gap in advance permissions and mean that for the first time, we will have a comprehensive understanding of those travelling to the UK.”
ETAs are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport and can be applied for via the Gov.uk website. They were introduced as a way to ensure “more robust security checks” which are carried out before people travel to the UK to help prevent “abuse” of the country’s immigration system.
With an ETA, foreign nationals will be able to come 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; or transiting through the UK – including if you’re not going through UK border control.
As well as the expansion of the ETA programme, the Home Secretary announced that all visitors from Jordan will be required to have a visa due to breaches of visitor rules, so will no longer be able to apply for an ETA. A four-week "transition period" will be implemented for travellers who already hold an ETA and have confirmed travel bookings.
Ms Cooper explained: “We are taking this action due to an increase in the number of Jordanian nationals travelling to the UK for purposes other than what is permitted under visitor rules since the visa requirement was lifted in February 2024. This has included a significant and sustained increase in asylum claims, and high rates of refusals at the border due to people travelling without the intention of visiting for a permitted purpose.”
For more information on the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system, visit here.