The cost of travel authorization required by EU and US citizens to enter the UK is set to increase from £10 to £16, according to the government, raising alarms that the expense will negatively affect tourism.
Since the implementation of the electronic travel authorization (ETA) system this month, numerous travelers to the UK who do not require a visa must apply for digital consent to enter the country.
Currently, visitors pay £10 for a permit that remains valid for two years and permits multiple trips.
However, the Home Office indicated that the price of a permit would increase from £10 to £16 in order to assist in “reducing the dependence of the migration and borders system on taxpayer financing.” The government agency did not specify a date for the adjustments, which it stated would generate an additional £269mn annually.
Tourism organizations and airlines condemned the changes, stating that they make the expense of visiting the UK increasingly non-competitive against EU plans to charge all visitors who do not need a visa €7 for its upcoming travel authorization scheme.
Richard Toomer, executive director of the Tourism Alliance trade association, remarked that the decision to increase the fee was “astounding.”
“This is particularly a blow to our European visitors at the moment they are required, for the first time ever, to request advance permission to travel to the UK,” he stated.
Tourism contributes £74bn annually to the UK economy, and ministers in November declared a goal to raise visitor numbers by nearly a third to 50mn annually by 2030.
Nevertheless, Toomer remarked that this goal would be unattainable “if the government continues to perceive tourists merely as a source of revenue.”
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the trade group Airlines UK, stated that the changes were “deeply disappointing” but appreciated the Home Office’s decision to exempt transiting travelers who stop at UK airports but do not enter the country.
Heathrow airport had warned that its status as Europe’s primary hub airport was jeopardized by the decision to impose charges on transfer passengers.
Travelers from over 50 nations, including the US, Australia, and Canada, have been required to apply for one of the permits to gain entry into the UK since the scheme commenced, which is loosely based on the US Esta system.
The list will be expanded to encompass EU nationals on April 2, although Irish citizens will be exempt.
EU and UK citizens have experienced heightened border formalities since seamless travel ended with the execution of the Brexit agreement at the conclusion of 2020, four years after the referendum.
Visitors already endure rigorous passport checks at UK and EU borders, which have resulted in episodes of disruption for Eurostar and the Channel ports.
UK citizens will also be caught up in new EU biometric border checks, scheduled to be implemented later this year but have faced multiple delays. A distinct EU visa waiver initiative, akin to the UK ETA, is also set to launch in 2025.
Under the UK’s immigration price hikes, the fees for additional services including naturalization as a British citizen will likewise increase.