New Border Fee for Travellers Entering the UK Starts Wednesday
From Wednesday, non-European travellers to the UK must pay a £10 fee for a digital permit to enter the country
UK, Travel, Border Fee, ETA, Home Office
London: Starting Wednesday, if you’re a non-European visiting or just passing through the UK, you’ll need to grab a £10 digital permit. This is part of the Home Office’s new electronic travel authorization (ETA) system, which kicked off last November.
Right now, only folks from Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan need an ETA. But from Wednesday, it’ll be a must for all non-Europeans without a visa or legal residence. And by April 2, everyone will need one.
British and Irish citizens are off the hook, though. You can apply for an ETA through the UK ETA app or the gov.uk website, and it’s linked to your passport.
The Home Office claims this will help beef up security checks before you even set foot on a plane to the UK, aiming to keep the immigration system in check. Each ETA allows for multiple trips to the UK for up to six months over two years, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
In the first half of 2024, over 243,000 ETAs were issued to Gulf nationals. However, Heathrow airport reported a drop of 90,000 in transfer passengers on routes affected by this new system since it started.
They’ve called the situation “devastating for our hub competitiveness” and are asking the Government to rethink including airside transit passengers in this scheme.