In a major change of UK immigration procedures, all persons coming to the UK for a visit, will, in the future, need to get permission for their trip before they travel to the UK.
Non-visa nationals (i.e. those who are not required to obtain a visitor visa to visit the UK) will need to obtain permission for a visit by securing Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), unless an exemption applies.
Impact
ETA is being phased in gradually. Currently it applies only to Qatari nationals.
It will apply to nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE and Saudi Arabia in relation to arrivals in the UK on or after 22 February 2024.
ETA will be extended to all non-visa nationals in several later phases and so it will end up affecting EU citizens, US citizens, Canadians, Australians, as well as many others.
Companies in the UK will be affected in relation to business visitors that they are hosting. They will need to ensure that when they are visited by colleagues or business contacts from overseas the visitor is aware of the new procedure.
Why is this being introduced?
Non-visa nationals currently are able to travel to the UK as visitors, without the UK government having any real opportunity to check the visitor’s criminal history or to check if they have a negative UK immigration history (for example, overstaying or breaching immigration conditions).
ETA will give the UK government an opportunity to check these matters using relevant data-bases, and refuse permission to travel where the visitor’s criminal or immigration history justifies this.
Visa nationals (i.e. those who require a visa to visit the UK) will not be directly impacted by these changes. They will in all cases still need to obtain a visa instead of an ETA before travelling to the UK.
Refusal
ETA will automatically be refused in some cases – for example, where a criminal conviction has taken place within the last 12 months, or where the visitor overstayed a previous visit – but in other cases the government can use its discretion to determine if there are reasons connected with “conduct, character, associations or other reasons” which mean that travel is not in the public interest.
If an ETA application is rejected (or a visitor knows or fears that ETA will be rejected) the visitor has the option of applying for a visitor visa. This will allow them the opportunity to provide extra information and/ or evidence to address the relevant areas of concern. If a person is successful in obtaining a visitor visa they will not need ETA.
Procedures
The government recommends that you obtain ETA authorisation before booking travel. Otherwise, you may not be allowed to board your flight, as the ETA is digitally linked to your passport.
Once ETA has been granted to you it will allow multiple visits to the UK for two years, if the passport used to obtain ETA does not expire.
The ETA application will be submitted online (by searching for ‘Apply for an ETA to come to the UK’ on gov.uk) or via a new app (‘UK ETA’). The application will only take a few minutes to complete. Each traveller must apply for their own ETA, including children.
A decision will usually take 3 working days.
You will receive an email confirmation that your application has been approved and it will be electronically linked to the passport you applied with. It is vital that you travel on this passport.
Anyone refused will not have permission to enter the UK and will need to apply for a visa before travelling if they wish to enter the UK.
Support
Bower Bailey can provide you with support and guidance if your application for ETA is rejected or if you fear your application may be rejected because of your previous history.
