Will the UK ETA Be Delayed? Industry Leaders Urge a Pause to Avoid Border Chaos

The United Kingdom is rolling out its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a digital permission that visitors from Europe, Australia, the United States, Canada and many other countries will need before entering the country. It is a central part of the UK's plan to fully digitise its borders by 2025. But as the launch approaches, travel industry figures are urging the government to slow down, warning that the new requirement could arrive at the same time as the European Union's repeatedly delayed Entry/Exit System.

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Two systems, one worried industry

Speaking to the House of Lords' Justice and Home Affairs Committee, Eurostar's general secretary and chief strategic partnerships officer Gareth Williams summed up the concern bluntly: "We've asked, can we not have two systems introduced at once."

His worry is that travellers will be asked for very similar information through different channels at roughly the same moment. "We're seeing a huge amount introduced at the border — interactive AI, the ETA, EES, and next year ETIAS," Williams said. "Our concern is the systems don't join up... the more you require the same information, the less compliance you get." The industry has asked both London and Brussels to take a step back.

The timing is genuinely uncertain. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) had been pencilled in for 10 November, but the bloc confirmed earlier in October 2024 that the launch would be postponed again, with no official replacement date and little prospect of it arriving before 2025.

How the UK ETA is being phased in

The UK has taken a gradual approach. The Home Office began rolling out the scheme in November 2023 for nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. If the timetable holds, it will open to most other nationalities later in 2024 and become a requirement from 8 January 2025. European visitors are due to need an ETA from 2 April 2025, with applications opening in March.

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How to apply and what it costs

To obtain an ETA, travellers fill in an online application form, and most can do so through a mobile app with a quick decision. You will need a valid biometric passport from an eligible country, your travel details, an email address and a credit or debit card, and you will answer a short set of suitability questions. Like the United States' ESTA, the ETA carries a small fee, set at £10 (around €11.66 at the time). Officials advise applying at least a few days before departure, with approval generally granted within 72 hours.

Travellers planning trips in both directions may find it helpful to understand how the EU's parallel pre-travel system works; our ETIAS overview explains what visa-free visitors to the Schengen area will eventually need.