From the 5th April 2025 , EU Citizens who are travelling to the United Kingdom as a Visitor or a Creative Worker, will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation.
Irish citizens who are deemed to be settled in the United Kingdom are exempt . Also exempt are those who are lawfully resident in Ireland, who are travelling to the United Kingdom directly.
The requirement for an Electronic Travel Authorisation is neither a supplement nor a replacement to those who are seeking a visa to enter the United Kingdom for other purposes. It is a stand alone requirement for the two temporary categories.
If granted, then on arrival permission to enter may be granted for six months for visitors and up to twelve months for Creative Workers. The ETA will be valid for two years, or the date of expiry of the holder’s passport, which ever is the sooner.
The procedure for obtaining an Electronic Travel Authorisation.
For an overview of the process, you may view the Home Office website here:-
There are four steps once you have downloaded the app.
• Scan passport
• Photograph to be uploaded
• Brief questions to be answered.
• Brief questions to be answered.
The holder of an ETA will need to obtain permission to enter on arrival in the UK but can be refused entry if they require an ETA and do not have one
Is the ETA a visa ?
The Electronic Travel Authorisation, is not a visa, because it does not demonstrate eligibility to enter the United Kingdom. It is a precondition to entry, but entry is conditional on meeting the other requirements to the relevant categories of the Immigration Rules. The distinction is set out at Section 33 and Section 11 of the 1971 Immigration Act as amended.
The test an individual must satisfy an Immigration Officer on entry to the United Kingdom is whether he or she meets the relevant provisions of the Immigration Rules for either Visitors or Creative Workers. The ETA questions for visitors are brief covering employment, previous conviction and potential public order threats.
The ETA must be refused where the Home Office deems that the applicant does not meet the suitability requirements set out at Appendix ETA discussed below.
Purpose of the ETA
The purpose is to screen those whom the Secretary of State may wish to prevent from embarkation to the United Kingdom for reason of public policy. It is a means of linking an individual’s identity to any pre existing record that the Secretary of State may hold based upon previous visits to the United Kingdom. The aspects that the Secretary of State is trying to identify can be inferred from the grounds on which an ETA must be refused. Specifically: -
Those who are subject to an exclusion order or deportation decision,
Those who have been convicted of 12 months imprisonment in the UK or overseas
Those who have previously breached Immigration laws including: -
Previous overstay ( subject to specified exceptions )
Breach of conditions of stay
Previous illegal entry
Previous deception on an Immigration Application or relevant facts not disclosed.
Unpaid litigation costs
Previous cancellation of an ETA unless Leave to Enter subsequently granted.
Previous refusal as a Visitor unless Leave to Enter subsequently granted.
Commentary
The transition to electronic passport gates has necessitated the filter to exclude on grounds of public policy to operate from overseas. Carriers are required to ensure that a person has the required ETA prior to boarding.
A refusal of an ETA on the grounds of suitability, is to deny entry before an application to do so has been made at port and without the concomitant opportunity to explain before hand. There is a long history of visa refusals on the basis of suitability, with an acquired case law determining that it is for the Secretary of State to prove that which she asserts.
The conundrum is how to challenge such a denial. If the refusal has been automated without any consideration , then the applicant will have the right to " human intervention" to review a decision. This is a very limited scope to challenge.
The workaround is contained in the third paragraph of the Appendix ETA:-
A person who is refused an ETA has not been refused permission to enter the UK and will need to apply for a visa if they wish to come to the UK.
In practice, an early application for an ETA will permit an individual to make a visa application if need be , before any travel plans are thwarted.
About
Dominic Magne read law at St John's College Cambridge.
He has worked continuously in the field of Immigration, Nationality and Asylum law since 1992.
He was called to the Bar in 1997 and qualified as a Solicitor in 2001. He established MAGNE & CO Solicitors the same year.
He has represented clients in the field of Immigration and Asylum law in both the United Kingdom and on the European main land .
To arrange a consultation, call +44(0)20 8399 3939 or email post@magne.co.uk
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