Poles to pay to enter UK. New rules coming into force soon
Flights to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will soon incur an additional fee. Poles and other EU citizens will be covered by the ETA system.
The British are tightening entry rules. The ETA electronic travel authorization system, which initially covered only Qatari citizens, will now be expanded to include other nationalities, as planned. In 2025, a passport will no longer be enough for Poles and other EU members flying to the UK. Every foreign tourist without a visa will have to pay a fee of 10 pounds (about 50 PLN).
Changes to the rules for entering the UK
Since October 2021, Poles travelling to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland cannot cross the border using an identity card. Today, four years later, we are facing another major change in the way tourists are checked at the UK border. For citizens of the European Union flying to the UK for tourist purposes, a passport will no longer be enough. All tourists exempt from visa requirements will have to pay a fee of 10 pounds (equivalent to about PLN 50) as part of the ETA electronic travel authorisation system. A similar programme has been operating for years in the United States under the name ESTA. A paid traveller identification system is soon to be available in Japan.
“Under plans announced by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the non-refundable fee will apply to all visitors to the UK, including babies and children, who do not have a visa or permission to stay, work or study,” CNN reported.
Fees from 2025
Registration for the UK ETA program initially applied only to Qatari citizens, who were then joined by residents of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In November, the ETA will also cover Americans, and in spring 2025, Europeans.
“Non-European nationals who qualify for an ETA will be able to apply for an ETA from 27 November 2024 and will require an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025. Then, from 5 March 2025, the ETA programme will be extended to Europeans who will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025,” reads the official statement.
“When fully implemented, the ETA will close the current loophole in prior authorisation and for the first time we will have comprehensive information about people travelling to the UK,” Yvette Cooper said in a statement. The new rules will not apply to citizens of the Republic of Ireland. The ETA is valid for 24 months and allows for multiple trips to the UK and a single stay of up to six months in a two-year period (or until your passport expires).
