Your next trip might require one extra step before you fly
Traveling to This Popular European Country in 2025? You’ll Need to Apply First
Published on Dec. 16, 2024
For international travelers, planning ahead to ensure you have the proper paperwork and visas is as essential as packing your luggage. While some countries require a lot of advance planning to enter, others historically have had fewer hoops to jump through, especially for passport holders from visa-except countries. Well, one of those easier-to-enter countries is changing its rules. Soon, you will need prior digital authorization to enter its borders.
If you have an international trip on the horizon, keep reading to see if your itinerary will require you to take one extra step before you head to the airport.
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Which country will now require authorization?
If you’re from the United States, Canada or one of over 40 other countries around the world, you’ll soon need digital authorization to visit or pass through the United Kingdom. The new electronic transit authorization, or ETA, isn’t the same thing as a visa, but it will be required for people visiting the country for fewer than six months. (You’ll still need your passport to get into and out of the U.K., so be sure to renew it if it’s out of date.)
In the past, travelers with American or Canadian passports, as well as passports from many other visa-exempt countries, could enter the U.K.—which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—without any advance authorization or paperwork. But that’s about to change, so if you want to visit London or anywhere else in the U.K., you’ll need to plan ahead.
When does the new requirement start?
For any trips on or after Jan. 8, 2025, you’ll need to apply for digital authorization to visit the United Kingdom. This doesn’t affect people with British or Irish citizenship, current visa holders or people who already have permission to work, live and attend school in the U.K.
How do you apply for this?
Applying for the electronic travel authorization, or ETA, is easy and surprisingly affordable. All you have to do is fill out the ETA application online or download the ETA app. It takes about 10 minutes to apply, and all you need is a photo of yourself, your passport and a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay account or Google Pay account to pay the $13 application fee.
Fortunately, the authorization lasts two years, so frequent travelers won’t have to apply every time they enter the country.
When will the ETA requirement roll out to the rest of Europe?
As of now, the rest of Europe will begin requiring the digital authorization on April 2, 2025. Eligible European passport holders will be able to apply starting on March 5, 2025. The goal of this brand-new program is to improve security within the United Kingdom and make the border more efficient.
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Source:
- Gov.uk: “UK opens pre-travel requirement to non-Europeans”
