Wia dis foto come from, PeopleImages/Getty Images
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- Author, Mitchell Labiak
- Role, Business reporter
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Read am in 5 mins
New travel system for visitors wey wan enta to UK go start from Wednesday for citizens of dozens of kontris like US and Australia.
Di govment tok say electronic travel authorisation (ETA) go make immigration system better.
But e don cause issues for dual nationals, wey don try to get UK passport to follow di new rules.
Wetin be ETA and who fit need one?
ETA na digital permission wey fit allow you travel go UK.
From 25 February, most pipo wey fit travel go UK visa-free go need ETA now.
Once dem approve your ETA, e go allow you stay for UK up to six months. E go dey valid for two years, or until your passport expire, and e go allow you make multiples journey to di UK.
Di visit fit be for tourism, business or short-term study.
E fit also dey for pipo wey go cross di border and travel through di UK as part of dia journey, but pipo wey dey transit through UK airports wey no need pass border security no go need ETA.
Longer journey and work visits or study go need visa. Pipo wey need visa to travel to UK go still need visa to travel to di UK, dem no need to apply for ETA as well.
British or Irish citizens no need ETA or visa to visit UK or pass through am. Some oda exceptions dey, such as pipo wey get settled status or children wey dey travel from France for school trip.
Dem launch di scheme for October 2023 but di govment tok say dem “no strictly enforce am to give visitors time to adjust to di new requirement.”
However, in November, govment tok say ETAs go become mandatory from 25 February.
UK govment say ETAs go make immigration system smoother, make am faster and more secure.
How I fit get ETA and how much e cost?
To get ETA, you go pay £16, but di govment tok say dem don plan to increase am to £20 in di future.
To apply, govment dey recommend make you go download di app from Google Play or Apple App Store.
You go need provide your contact and passport details, provide quality foto, and answer some questions.
You must travel wit di same passport wey you use apply for di ETA.
Di govment tok say most pipo go get automatic answer for minutes wen dem use ETA app, but dem dey recommend make pipo apply at least three working days before dem go travel.
If dem reject your ETA application, govment tok say dem go tell you di reason and you fit apply again.
However, if dem refuse your ETA application, you no fit appeal, instead you go need apply for visa to visit di UK.
How dem wan enforce di rules?
Wen you check in for your journey, you fit no dey able to enter without valid ETA.
Airlines, rail companies and shipping companies don get tools by di UK govment to fit check travel permission through automatic digital checks wit di Home Office.
ETA dey digitally linked to your passport, so you no need paper copy for border. However, govment tok say e good make you still keep paper copy for your records.
While ETA dey give you permission to visit UK, e no give you di right to enta. You go still need pass through passport control.
Dem fit turn you back for border even if your ETA dey valid, if dem get oda issues at di passport control.
Wetin be di problem for dual nationals?
Dual nationals — pipo wey get UK citizenship and anoda kontri — no fit get ETA.
To enta di kontri, dem go need show either British passport or di new digital version of di certificate dem attach to dia second nationality passport.
If dem no get either of dem, e mean say dem go deny dem di right to travel back to di UK.
Not everybody wey get citizenship go automatically receive British passports or certificates of entitlement, some dual nationals neva apply for dem, even if dem don dey live for UK for long years.
Both documents go take time, e go take several weeks to get am, and e get cost too. Adult British passport dey cost about £100, while di certificate of entitlement dey cost £589.
Bifor, dual nationals fit leave UK and come back wit dia non-British passport.
Several British dual nationals don tell BBC how dem dey struggle to get British passport to meet di new requirements.
Some don dey outside di kontri since dem don change di rules and dem tok say dem no get enough time to adjust to di changes.
One Home Office tok-tok pesin don tell BBC say ‘public information dey advise dual nationals to carry correct documents wey don dey available since October 2024 and a substantive communication campaign about ETA introduction don dey run since 2023.’
Which oda kontris dey use ETAs?
If ETA sound familiar, na because Canada, US, and oda kontris don use am already. But di price no be di same.
Canadian ETA cost just 7 Canadian dollars (£3.78) while di one for US, go cost you $40.27 (£29.75).
Countries wey go need ETA to visit UK
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Belize
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Israel
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macao Special Administrative Region
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Oman
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
- Uruguay
- Vatican City
