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Hopping across The Pond is now a little more complicated. As of January 8th, US citizens and visitors are required to apply in advance and pay a fee to enter. This includes short visits, tourism, business, and those just passing through UK airports.
Travelers headed to England, Scotland, and Wales need to apply for entry in advance of their flights through the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system. An ETA will cost £10 (which is around $12.75). ETAs are tied to a passenger’s passport number so after one is approved there is no additional documentation needed upon arrival.
The good news is that the process is simple. It might take up to three business days for approval, but once an ETA is secured it’s valid for the length of the passport or a period of two years (whichever is shorter). Specific travel details (flights, hotels, etc.) do not need to be provided.
The online application can be found here. You’ll need to upload a photo of your passport as well as a photo of yourself. Some basic security questions need to be answered and then you’re all set. If your approval does not come prior to arrival, don’t worry. You’ll still be granted access to the UK as long as you apply in advance of travel. Additional details can be found here.
Anthony’s Take: I’m not a fan of bureaucracy and extra paperwork. This seems fairly straightforward and is just one more step before travel. We survived all of the requirements of Covid travel. This should become second nature (along with other new ETIAS authorizations needed to travel in Europe).
(Image Credits: UK Government and Lucas Davies via Unsplash.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
2 comments
F’ that. I’m not giving that corrupt gov’t money to transit the airport. I changed my flight to direct rather than go through LHR.
Agree with the sentiments of FTHAT. Definitely a PITA, and ridiculous that it applies even to those doing an international to international connection over a UK airport. Unfortunately some of the cheapest itineraries, by a substantial margin, to Europe from our town involve a connection in LHR.
The real fun begins when you show up at a small US American Airlines outstation with an itinerary having a connection over LHR, and the clueless employees start demanding that you show them a QR code or some such and taking a ton of time to learn that they are wrong. I’m sure this is already happening.