The Home Office is planning to increase the Electronic Travel Authorisation fee for overseas visitors from £10 to £16.
In a proposal put before Parliament on Thursday, it said it would deliver a ‘more streamlined’ digital immigration system, which ‘will be quicker and more secure’.
However, UKinbound described the 60% increase as a ‘staggering blow’ to the UK’s tourism industry and businesses across the country.
“This change comes at the worst time, just as ETA requirements for all non-visa national visitors are rolled out from the 2 April,” said Chief Executive Joss Croft. “There is a false assumption that international visitors will continue to choose the UK, even if we hike up prices.
“International tourism is a competitive industry and the two key motivators to visit a destination are value for money and the quality of welcome, and this move damages our standing on both fronts.
“Charging international travellers more to visit the UK only harms the growth potential of the UK’s fifth largest export sector, international tourism to the UK, which is currently outperforming the wider UK economy.”
He pointed out that the ETA will be more expensive than European’s Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), expected to launch later this year, which offers entry to 29 Schengen countries, is free for over 70s and under 18s, and is half the price of an ETA.
“European citizens themselves, who make up two-thirds of all visitors to the UK, have the right to travel freely between Schengen countries, with no requirement for an ETA/ETIAS or a passport, so the competition is stiff,” he added.
ETA was introduced in 2023, initially for arrivals from Gulf nations, and has been gradually rolled out to visitors from more countries.
Currently, arrivals from 48 non-EU countries, including the US, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore require an ETA to enter the UK.
From April, ETA will be extended to visitors from the European Union and elsewhere.
It lasts for two years and allows for multiple journeys, or until the traveller’s passport expires, and allows for stays of up to six months at a time.
Advantage Travel CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said warned the increase in the cost could impact outbound, as well as the inbound, travel. “Without a thriving inbound sector, you cannot have a thriving outbound industry,” she said. “The government should be looking to encourage and harness growth, capitalising on the desire to travel to help our economy prosper by creating jobs and boosting destinations.”
The Home Office said: “The introduction of ETAs is in line with the approach to border security taken by many other countries, including the USA and Australia.”
However, following feedback from the aviation industry, the Government has agreed a temporary exemption for passengers who transit airside, without going through UK border control.
This move will primarily affect Heathrow and Manchester airports, as the only UK airports which currently offer transit facilities. The exemption will be kept under review, said the Home Office.
Welcoming visa-free transits, ABTA said it would ‘help ensure the continuing viability of important air links’, but its Director of Public Affairs Luke Petherbridge warned that the 60% increase in visa cost ‘risks stifling growth’.
“Coming on the back of increases announced for Air Passenger Duty in the recent budget, we are seeing a layering of additional charges in a sector which has been forecast to grow strongly,” he added. “Travel and tourism should be taxed fairly; excessive increases run the risk of suppressing demand and holding back a thriving industry.”
The Home Office is also planning to increase other immigration fees, including the certificate of sponsorship fee to £525, naturalisation as a British citizen to £1,605, and naturalisation as a British overseas territories citizen to £1,070.
Together, these increases will raise an additional £269 million a year, reducing the need for taxpayers to fund immigration services, said the Home Office.
If the proposed legislation is approved, it plans to amend the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 to allow for the increase, ‘as soon as Parliamentary time allows’.
