The expansion of Electronic Travel Authorisations

Quick read

Those of you who travel to the USA will be familiar with their Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) under which, since 2008, certain travellers have been able to apply to travel to the USA under their visa waiver programme.

UK - ETA

Regularly readers will have seen our previous article earlier this year. Since then the information about the ETA programme has been updated. From 2025, everyone (including children) who is not a British or Irish passport holder or British Oversea Territories Citizen will need to apply for permission to travel to the UK in advance of their arrival - either through an ETA or an eVisa. (For information about eVisas please see Vikki Wiberg's article here).

ETAs are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport and allow security checks to be carried out before the traveller begins their journey to the UK. An ETA costs £10 and permits multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to six months at a time over two years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner.

The ETA scheme is already live for countries in the Middle East with the exception of Jordan who, after being included in the ETA for a short time, are now required to again apply for a visit visa before travelling to the UK.
From 27 November 2024, eligible non-Europeans (including those from the USA, Canada, Australia) can apply online for an ETA. They will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025.
From 5 March 2025 the ETA scheme will then extend again to eligible Europeans. They will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.

The ETA scheme is also available for those 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.

For more information and to apply for an ETA please see 'Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA)'.

EES – EU

A digital biometric capture scheme was due to be introduced in Europe for trips taking place after 10 November 2024 taken by non-EU nationals travelling to a European country for a short stay and who either:

possess a short-stay visa
do not need a visa to stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period.

At the time of writing the EU had however just announced that the introduction of this system would be delayed until 2025. When it is introduced the EES will apply for example to British nationals, Americans, Canadians etc. British nationals living in the EU under the Withdrawal Agreement, will be exempt from registration under the EES if they can produce their residence document.

EES registration will replace the current system of manually stamping passports when visitors arrive in the EU and will allow the Schengen area to better track time spent in the area and make the border more secure.

On their first trip to the Schengen area after the roll out, those who are subject to the EES will be required to register their biometric details (fingerprints or a photo) at the border in dedicated booths. No information needs to be provided in advance of travel. When the EES starts, travellers will need to queue to register at border checkpoints like ports and airports. It is expected that this will lead to significant queues.

The EES digital record is valid for three years. Travellers who enter the Schengen area again during this time, will only need to provide a fingerprint or photo at the border, when they enter and exit.

For more information please see the EES - European Union and the UK government pages.

Finally please note that in 2025, the EU also plans to introduce a separate system pre travel authorisation scheme like the ESTA and ETA, called the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). ETIAS will require a payment of Euro 7. This scheme has not yet launched.