Home Office ETA Expansion: A Blow to the UK Economy

 The expansion of the Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme ( ETA) by the home office will be a major blow to the UK economy.  

The Electronic Travel authorisation Scheme was first introduced to Qatari nationals travelling to or via the UK on 15 November 2023. On 22 February 2024, the program was extended to nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, although Jordan was later removed from the pilot scheme.

From 8th January 2025, passengers from more than 40 countries that do not require visas to enter the UK will be required to obtain an ETA to enter the UK. Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the US are among the countries added to the list as of January 8, 2025.  From 2nd April 2025, the list will expand to include EU nationals with the exception of Irish citizens.

Most significantly, the UK government has now made it mandatory for connecting passengers to obtain an ETA. Therefore, all passengers transiting through UK airports are required to have an ETA from 8th January 2025. This means that by 2 April 2025, the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme will apply to the vast majority of overseas arrivals, even those merely changing planes.

London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has warned that the UK government’s electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme will make the country “less competitive and harm economic growth” if applied to transit passengers.   It has further warned that this could lead to a potential loss of 4 million passengers at Heathrow alone.

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said “We want to work in partnership with Home Office ministers over the next few months to address this issue and learn from the lessons of the countries trialed, where we’ve seen the loss of a significant number of transfer passengers already.”

Heathrow blames the loss of 90000 transfer passengers since the introduction of the scheme in 2023, describing the program as “devastating for our hub's competitiveness” and urging the government to “review” the inclusion of airside transit passengers.

The new government says: “Everyone wishing to travel to the UK—except British and Irish citizens—will need permission to travel in advance of coming here. This can be either through an electronic travel Authorisation or an eVisa.”  Ministers state that rolling out the scheme worldwide will “prevent abuse of our immigration system.”

The ETA will be needed even for those who are “airside” at Heathrow airport  for a short time between international flights.  Non-Europeans will need the permit to travel from 8 January 2025, with the ETA mandatory for European arrivals from 2 April 2025.

The ETA can be obtained online through a UK government website or via the app “UK ETA”. Applicants are required to supply  photographs of their passport and face and answer a series of questions. The government says: “This will ensure we have information on those seeking to come to the UK helping to prevent dangerous individuals, such as criminals, entering the UK” and that it “ will increase our knowledge about those seeking to come to the UK and prevent the arrival of those who present a threat.”

Abuse of the scheme has already emerged with the appearance of commercial sites, which have no connection to the UK government, designed to lure applicants to pay additional fees.

In contrast to similar schemes in the USA, Canada, and elsewhere, where approval is delivered quickly, the decision on each ETA application is expected within three days.

However, the scheme has already been causing disruption for some passengers who have not received a decision beyond the 3 days, leaving them in limbo. 

I met one passenger, a US citizen, who does not wish to be named. He told me that he applied for his ETA on 3rd December for a British Airways flight transiting through Heathrow on the 18th of January. When I spoke with him on 8th January, the day the scheme was implemented for transit passengers, he explained that he had still not received a decision. He contacted the home office to escalate his application and was told that it was still “under consideration.” He explained to me that he was very stressed and confused as he would only be in Heathrow airport for a few hours to take his connecting flight and would not set foot out of the airport so couldn’t understand the delay. He now fears that if he does not receive a decision on time for his booked flight, he will have to purchase a new ticket on another airline through a different hub and lose the cost of his original business class ticket amounting to more than $2000.

This example highlights the challenges and disruption the scheme will cause to passengers, airlines, and the UK economy.

It remains to be seen if the Home Office will heed the concerns and reverse the decision.

Written by Maye A. Nimah, Senior Caseworker