The government has finally announced further rollout dates for the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme. As one of many steps being taken by the Government towards achieving its aims of digitising the UK border and immigration system, it’s important that employers and individuals are aware and start preparing now for these changes.
What’s changing?
- By April 2025, all non-British or Irish citizens will be required to obtain prior permission when travelling to the UK.
- Those on the visa national list will continue to need to apply for visit visas as before.
- ‘non-visa nationals’ where they do not already have a visa and are not required to obtain one (including EU/EEA/Swiss, US, Australian and Canadian nationals) will be required to apply for an ETA which is a digital permission to travel to the UK.
The government hopes the scheme will enhance pre-arrival screening of non-visa nationals.
What are potential risks to be aware of?
The current suitability requirements for entry to the UK or a UK visa state various grounds for refusal which are based on past conduct.
Such grounds include but are not limited to:
- criminal convictions;
- a poor immigration history;
- and/or unpaid NHS bills.
To date, the position for non-visa nationals has been that they can travel to the UK without a prior check being undertaken to ensure they meet the suitability requirements.
The rollout of the ETA regime to all nationalities (bar British and Irish nationals), means disclosures of criminal convictions, any other non-conducive grounds as to whether they can come to the UK and whether they have previously breached UK immigration law or made false representations will now need to be made.
The impact of this change is that those who visited the UK without issue will now find themselves being refused an ETA and directed to apply for a visa, which is costly in both time and money.
In addition, the government’s announcement includes two further suitability grounds for refusal of an ETA:
- Those previously refused a visit visa or permission to enter will be refused an ETA (unless it was subsequently granted).
- Those who previously had an ETA cancelled for reasons not relating to suitability will be refused an ETA.
It should be noted that an ETA only gives an individual permission to travel to the UK. It does not guarantee entry to the UK.
How will this work?
Applications can be made online using the UK ETA app where applicants will be asked to complete a questionnaire and provide document copies. Guidance on how to use the app is available here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-the-uk-eta-app.
The cost of an application is £10 per person and if successful, it will permit multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to 6 months at a time over 2 years or until the holder’s passport expires – which ever is sooner. Decisions should be made within 3 working days, although if further checks are required it may take longer.
When are these changes coming into effect?
From 8 January 2025, eligible non-Europeans will need an ETA to travel to the UK. Nationals of the 49 countries and territories listed below will be able to apply for ETAs from 27 November 2024.
- Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including British National (Overseas)), Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Macao Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, The Bahamas, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United States and Uruguay.
From 2 April 2025, the scheme will extend to all EU and EEU countries (excluding Ireland). EU and EEU citizens from the nations listed below will be able to apply for ETAs from 5 March 2025.
- Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.
What does this mean for employers?
All non-visa nationals will have to consider this as an additional step in the procedure of visiting the UK. However, those who do not qualify for an ETA may be faced with incurring additional costs and significant time delays in applying for a visit visa. This process will likely be more complicated and time-consuming process.
Our key recommendations:
- Employers should start planning further in advance when organising business visits, especially where a visa may be required.
- It is key that employers begin to communicate with their employees who travel to the UK about the ETA requirement and that they understand how this will impact them.
Disclosures of criminal history records, which may not have become disclosable in relation to an individual’s employment, will mean that employers will need to deal efficiently with new information which may result from such applications.
If you have any questions about the impact of the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme will have on your organisation, please do get in touch.