The UK is in the middle of a phased introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation, commonly known as ETA.
This is already required for all non-European nationals travelling to the UK, but from April 2nd it will be extended so that it is required for people travelling on an EU, EEA or Swiss passport. The only groups exempt will be those travelling on a UK or Irish passport, or those who have a visa or residency status in the UK.
European citizens who are married to Brits are not exempt, unless they have dual nationality.
You can find the full explanation HERE.
READ ALSO Do dual nationals need an ETA?
The ETA itself is a £10 (€12) visa waiver that must be applied for online in advance of travel.
But online processes unfortunately attract scammers - as we have already seen with the EU's proposed EES system, where a host of unofficial, but very professional looking sites have popped up offering to 'help' people with the paperwork.
Third-party sites
There are no external companies or websites that are authorised by the UK government to provide the ETA visa waiver.
Any company that offers to complete the process for you is at the very least likely to charge you more than the usual fee for a service that you can easily do yourself on the government website.
You just have to go to Google and type "ETA for UK" to see the number of "sponsored" sites offering to take you through the process. In the screenshot below the official government site is in 4th position.
Thankfully, some of the non-official websites do spell out that they are needless, but you'll have to scroll to the very bottom to find out.
Text at the bottom of the site UKETA.com reads: "We are not affiliated with the United Kingdom government in any way. Applicants still have the option to apply for the UK ETA on their own via the official government portal at gov.uk without paying any additional professional fees."
So as they say, to avoid paying extra, just go to the gov.uk ETA site. More on this below.
Emails or texts
If you are travelling to the UK it's up to you to find out whether you or anyone in your group needs an ETA, and arrange it if so - the UK government will not contact you to remind you, so any emails or SMS claiming to be from the government are likely a scam. Do not click any links in messages like these.
However your travel operator - airline, ferry operator, trains company etc - may email you in advance of your trip to remind you of the new regulations.
If you are in any doubt at all about whether an email is genuine, do not click on any links, but instead go directly to the government page.
UK Gov
The ETA is available on the UK government's website or app.
You can find the website HERE, or by searching 'UK Gov ETA' - make sure that the web page you are looking at starts with www.gov.uk - the official prefix of UK government sites.
There is also an app, called UK ETA, which is available in the App Store or in Google Play, depending on whether you have an iPhone or Android device. You can also find a link to the app from the UK government web page.
It looks like this:
Application
The application process itself basically just involves filling out a form with your personal details on either the website or the app.
You will then be contacted later with an update on whether your visa waiver has been authorised.
At present, users are reporting just a few minutes between the application being submitted and the authorisation arriving, although it's likely that processing times will slow as the scheme is expanded to more people.
UK authorities advise you to apply at least three working days before your trip - applications are now open for EU/EEA/Swiss nationals, and the visa waiver is required for travel on or after April 2nd, 2025.
Once the authorisation is issued, it lasts for two years - unless you get a new passport within that time. Once your new passport arrives, you will have to apply for a new ETA.
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