Those citizens covered by the scheme will be able to apply for the new ETA - which is digitally linked to the traveller’s passport - via an app, from March 5. Around six million people from the United States, Canada and Australia, and around 265,000 people from New Zealand, visit Britain each year, according to the UK government.
Eligible travellers will need one even if they are just using the UK to connect to an onward flight abroad. ETA also applies to children and babies. Naila Hadi, a US woman in her 50s, told AFP at London’s Heathrow Airport that the new system was “easy” to navigate.
“We did it on our phones and they just scanned the passport, because this passport has a chip ... and within 20 minutes we got our approval,” said Hadi, who had arrived from New Jersey with her daughter.
Tourism Impact
Jackie Day, a 77-year-old arriving from Vancouver, said: “My only quibble is that when I selected the country I was applying from, Canada, I had to pay in US dollars.”
“I had to scan the passport, I had to scan my face plus take a picture of my face and fill out basic information about where I live, nothing complicated,” she added.
However, Northern Ireland economy minister Conor Murphy warned that ETA will have a “devastating” impact on tourism in the British province, given that its neighbour the Republic of Ireland is not involved with the scheme.
Murphy fears that the cost and red tape will deter international tourists visiting the Republic from making the journey across the land border to visit Northern Ireland, and has called for a time-limited exemption for people visiting up to seven days.
Heathrow has also opposed the scheme, saying its rollout has reduced the number of passengers transiting through the UK, and that it makes the country “less competitive” and harms economic growth.
The new requirement does not apply to British and Irish citizens, those with passports from British overseas territories and legal UK residents.
It does not change the requirements for citizens of countries who need a visa to visit Britain, such as Chinese, Ecuadorian and South African travellers.
Previously, most visitors not requiring a visa could arrive at a British airport and proceed through immigration control with their passport.
The new UK entry scheme mirrors the imminent ETIAS scheme for visa-exempt nationals travelling to 30 European countries, including France and Germany, which will cost €7 ($12.88) and last three years.
The European Commission expects the system - which will apply to around 60 countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil and the UK - to become operational in the middle of this year.
ETAs can be applied for via the UK government website or the UK ETA app. Travellers will be required to upload photos of the passport and the face of the person applying, answer a few questions, and make a payment.
It takes about three working days to receive a decision on an application. Once approved, the ETA is valid for two years and travellers can visit the UK as often as they want within that timeframe.
- Agence France-Presse, with additional reporting by NZ Herald.
