The non-refundable fee will apply to all visitors to the UK, including babies and children, without a visa, or permission to live, work or study…reports Asian Lite News
European travelers visiting the UK without a visa will soon be required to pay a £10 (around $13) waiver fee. The new rules, which will come into effect over the next year, will see the UK’s electronic travel authorization (ETA) system, first introduced for Qatar nationals, expanded to include travelers from all other countries, including European Union citizens.
The non-refundable fee will apply to all visitors to the UK, including babies and children, without a visa, or permission to live, work or study, according to plans announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. At present, citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are required to apply for an ETA before entering the UK.
This will be extended to include most other nationals, including those from the US but excluding Europeans, in November. By next spring, the program will be expanded again to incorporate European nationals.
“Once fully rolled out, the ETA scheme will close the current gap in advance permissions and mean that for the first time, we will have a comprehensive understanding of those traveling to the UK,” Cooper said in a statement. Jordanian nationals can no longer apply for an ETA to enter the UK, according to the UK government website.
Visa waiver schemes are certainly not a new thing. The United States’ electronic travel authorization ESTA, which now costs $21 and lasts two years, was first introduced back in 2009.
Meanwhile, the roll out of the European Union’s ETIAS, valid for three years, which will cost travelers 7 euros (about $7.50,) has been postponed to 2025. The UK formally left the European Union in January 2020.
The ETA is part of the UK’s plan to digitise its borders at UK airports by the end of 2025.
Some passengers may be able to enter the country without using an electronic passport gate or speaking to a Border Force officer. Instead, they will likely have to upload a photo of themselves and submit it to the Home Office before they travel.
The scheme is intended to reduce queues at the border, “helping to speed up legitimate journeys to the UK”.
Facial recognition technology could be used to make these “contactless corridors” possible, British newspaper The Times reports. It would require international travellers to submit biographic and biometric details, like photos of their faces through the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme before they fly.
ALSO READ: NHS must reform or die, warns PM