Important announcement for travellers! New European visa rules coming
As of April 2, 2025, with the option to apply as early as March 5, the British government is extending the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) electronic visa fee system to all EU citizens who want to enter the UK and do not have a work visa or are not resident there.
For non-European travellers, it has been mandatory since January 8.
How to obtain an ETA – The visa is downloaded via an app (Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) – GOV.UK) or by filling in an online form and paying £10 (expected to rise to £16 in the future); the ETA is attached to the passport and allows multiple trips to the UK for stays of up to 6 months at a time over 2 years.
For further information:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta
EES checks – Starting in 2025, non-EU citizens arriving from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia must apply for a visa waiver to enter the Schengen area, the free movement zone that includes the EU (except Ireland and Cyprus) and Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Under-18s and over-70s are excluded from paying the fee.
Since 10 November 2024, EES, the Entry/Exit System for European border controls aimed at preventing terrorists, criminals and spies from entering the EU with false passports, has been in force: electronic registration replaces the stamp affixed at the frontier. Non-EU travellers are required to provide biometric data – including facial scans and fingerprints – which will be stored in a database for three to five years along with other information, such as passport details or the date of entry and exit from the Schengen area. Refusal to provide the data will preclude access to the EU country.
The ETIAS mechanism – From 2025, non-EU citizens arriving from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia have to pay a €7 fee for visa-free travel (visa-waiver) throughout the Schengen area; personal information is required (address of residence, profession, any criminal convictions), with a timeframe ranging from a few minutes for completion (online or via app) and approval, up to 72 hours in cases of particular scrutiny. The authorisation obtained lasts for three years or until the expiry of the passport and allows the holder to stay in the entire Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within a period of 180.
This European Travel Information Authorisation System-ETIAS also applies to countries outside the EU such as Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland.
The new Labour government of Keir Starmer had ventilated a rapprochement with Brussels on the visa issue, but an EU tightening has nevertheless arrived. According to Ylva Johannson, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, the new electronic registration mechanism will increase security at EU borders: ‘Last year more than 700 million tourists travelled to Europe and now 450 million Europeans will be safer thanks to the new systems.”
The effects on the real estate market – The new EU rules on non-EU visas have alerted airlines and the tourist industry to the concern that travellers will not take them on board fully and correctly, thus being denied access to flights. The UK will introduce checks not only at airports, but also at the ports of Dover and Folkstone, and at London’s Eurostar airport of St. Pancras.
The whole situation also inevitably rebounds on the real estate sector, in particular on London’s short term rentals for holiday or business.
The services and expertise of the Welcome Home UK agency cover the whole sphere, from research to property management, including taking care of bureaucratic paperwork, an aspect that is now clearly essential to continue to experience travel and stays with agility and confidence.
