The new paid visa, the ETA, will be mandatory from April 2025

To travel to or visit the United Kingdom, a travel authorization will be mandatory from April 2, 2025 for nationals of the European Union, including the French. Announced in 2023, the ETA (for Electronic System for Travel Authorization), modeled on the American Esta (a sort of paid digital visa) will be required from all foreign nationals, with the exception of Ireland, under the Common Travel Area, a free movement zone between the two territories.

Initially planned for the end of 2024, the date of entry into force for European nationals – April 2025, therefore – has just been specified by the British authorities on their website, as well as the price of the document: 10 pounds, or approximately 12 euros. The request can be made online from March 5, 2025.

Online form

In detail, you will need to fill out a form online or via the UK ETA app several days before departure. Several pieces of information will be requested – those on your passport and others relating to your stay. The ETA request will be examined and processed between 48 and 72 hours. From leisure to language stays to professional reasons, the reasons for requesting it can be varied. Furthermore, since it will be based on the American model, the validity period of the British authorization should be two years.

With this travel authorisation, you will only need to scan your ID when you arrive in the UK – all the information relating to your authorisation will have been linked to your identity document. A way to “strengthening security through new technology and modernizing the immigration system,” according to the authorities. The ETA is so far only mandatory for residents of certain Gulf countries and issued within an average of three working days, before becoming mandatory for citizens of 49 countries in early January 2025, then the EU in April.