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All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

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41–50 of 89 posts

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#41
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Anyone arriving at the U.K. border by air or rail without an ETA will be turned away, including if they arrive via Ireland but are not Irish or British citizens. So anything who didn't apply an ETA will now be blocked? I thought they should at least offer an option for something like £100 to get it done at the border. But that is a lot of inconvenience for travellers.

Nothing different than what the US has at the moment and they’re ok

Many types of visitors do not need an ETA when traveling to the US. Specifically the Visa Waiver Program (covers ~50 countries) does not require travel plans nor do most visits from Canadians. This is different because it applies to all visitors.

I am under the impression some types of Visas allow reentry without declaring ETA ahead of times, but I am unsure.

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#42
post #6

The cost of the ETA has not been confirmed but it is expected to be in a similar range to those schemes. The U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization costs $21. The European Union is set to launch its own digital travel authorization scheme, called ETIAS, for visa-exempt nationals in 2024. It will enable travel within 30 countries. This isn't a UK thing, I expect most developed countries to adopt such things i…

as someone who has a crappy passport, I laugh at "fees are going to add up" given we regularly pay $50+ (sometimes several hundred dollars) "application fees" for 1-3 week visit visas (sometimes you get lucky with 6 month or 1 year) and often wait 2-3 weeks for our passports to come back from the embassy.

If I'm planning to visit two countries in one trip, i have to plan that each embassy will hold my passport for a week or two (it really depends on the country).

These schemes are "harder" than what it used to be, but still a hoop i'd be ecstatic to jump through if i could.

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#43
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of it is to know way ahead of time who is coming to their shores, even at the cost of inconvenience. Quick online esta-style form, not too bad, you just have to remember to do it.

If that was the only point, why make you pay? Colombia's "Check-MIG" is similar but free.

Probably because people are willing to pay a small price (tourists and business travellers are cost-insensitive).

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#44
> ETA

> 'decision given within three days.' (so too long to book a last minute weekend trip)

> may also need to take a “dynamic selfie,”

> eventually require all travelers to submit fingerprint biometrics

I live in France, and used to go to the UK on organised trips, schools trips, holiday camps, or with friends, for a weekend to two weeks, because it was so easy to go there ! We would go to London, to Wales, Baths, Scottland, and all over; i loved that place.

You just needed any ID back then. No passport, no online application, ... And there were plenty of flights, trains, coaches and ferry services.

But that's something we haven't done since Brexit. I'm the only one in the crew with a passport. Now the ETA adds even more complexity. If any of my friend eventually get a passport, I would have to convince them to get an ETA.

Why is the UK making it so complicated for regional travellers ? Brexit was already a strong signal that they didn't want Polish or mainland Europeans anymore. And now there is some additional vetting you need to do in advance.

In the meantime, you can also go to plenty of lovely places hassle free, and where you're sure to be allowed in : Germany (even Bayern), Italy, Spain, Poland, France, Croatia,...

Why would anyone bother to go to the UK anymore ? Especially for weekend trips ? In uni, foreign students used to know all of Europe better than locals, because they wouldn't want to apply for a UK visa while they had the Schengen one.

Now, it will be all of us.

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#46
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So?

So, the thing I said? Are you fine with substantially more burdensome requirements as long as it doesn't impact you personally?

Yep.

There is also "bad person" without scare quotes to consider.

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#48
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, the thing I said? Are you fine with substantially more burdensome requirements as long as it doesn't impact you personally?

Yep. There is also "bad person" without scare quotes to consider.

You misread what I said above:

> similar name to a "bad person"

If you share the same name with someone on a watch list, you may be required to physically attend an interview at the embassy. That's a huge burden and something visa free travelers may not have had to do before.

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#49
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of it is to know way ahead of time who is coming to their shores, even at the cost of inconvenience. Quick online esta-style form, not too bad, you just have to remember to do it.

If that was the only point, why make you pay? Colombia's "Check-MIG" is similar but free.

I think some governments prefer to charge for things that cost them money as to not end up like Colombia.

Re: All travelers to the UK will need pre-authorization by 2025

#50
post #38
post #34

> Anyone arriving at the U.K. border by air or rail without an ETA will be turned away, including if they arrive via Ireland but are not Irish or British citizens. How exactly is this going to work with an open border between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland? For that matter, wouldn't requiring an ETA for Republic of Ireland citizens to travel to Northern Ireland be a violation of the Good Friday Agreement, e…

The part you quoted explicitly says "but are not Irish or British citizens".

Argh. Note to self, read articles more carefully. Thanks for the heads up :)

That being said, politicians seem to shy away from putting anything resembling a checkpoint on that border in fear of reigniting the conflict. But that would be necessary, if only to check residency status and validate the ETA for non-Irish EU citizens.

Once there is a checkpoint, political pressure will rise to also use it for EU goods checks and renegotiate the Windsor agreement.

That, or NI will be excluded from the ETA requirement and the check will be moved to the irish sea border - which would make the DUP mad again.

This stuff was a gordian knot to solve for goods alone, they'll have fun doing it all again for people.

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