Tuesday 1 April 2025

From tomorrow (Wednesday 2 April 2025) nationals of European Union (EU) Member States, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland will require an ETA to travel to the UK (subject to the temporary relaxation of the ETA requirement – see below).

This extension of the ETA scheme to European nationals represents the final stage of the scheme’s rollout.  A full list of nationalities to which the ETA requirement applies can found on the GOV.UK website here.

If you are an individual with a relevant nationality, or a company whose employees visit the UK for business, it will be necessary to plan ahead to avoid travel delays.

Who does not need an ETA?

An ETA is not required for British or Irish citizens, British National (Overseas) passport holders, individuals who already hold UK immigration permission (including status under the EU Settlement Scheme, and settlement/indefinite leave to remain) or individuals who normally need to apply for visitor visas to enter the UK (a list of such nationalities is available here). There is also an exemption for those who would normally need an ETA but who are legally resident in Ireland and are travelling to the UK from Ireland or somewhere else in the Common Travel Area (such as the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands).

Application procedure

To obtain an ETA, applicants will need to:

1. submit basic personal information via the UK ETA app or an online form;
2. submit a photo/scan of their face and passport;
3. answer questions related to security, criminal records and employment; and
4. pay an application fee of £10 per applicant (due to increase to £16 on 9 April 2025).

The application process can be commenced by visiting the relevant GOV.UK page here. Successful applications should normally be processed within three working days, however currently many are decided in under an hour. If an application is approved, the ETA will be valid for two years and will permit multiple journeys.

Temporary relaxation of ETA requirement

An application for an ETA needs to be made prior to travel to the UK.  Currently the requirement to have an ETA in place is slightly relaxed and it should be possible to travel to the UK with a pending ETA application (an application which has been submitted but not yet approved). This temporary relaxation will be in place until later in 2025, although an exact end date has not yet been announced. During this period, if an individual does not have an ETA when attempting to travel, they should be requested to make an ETA application by the airline/carrier prior to boarding. Depending on the airline/carrier, there is a risk that individuals who do not have an ETA may still be refused boarding – it is therefore advisable for those who require ETAs to secure them before travelling, if at all possible, during this period.

Assistance
If you require further advice on these changes or any assistance relating to ETAs please contact your assigned LDI lawyer or our Enquiries team at enquiries@lauradevine.com and we shall be pleased to discuss how we can assist.