 "Travelling to UK or EU? Here’s what is set to change in 2025")
Planning to visit the UK or EU in 2025?
A bunch of changes are in the offing that you should probably know about.
Those travelling to the UK and EU will need to register before they arrive.
Meanwhile, the Schengen Zone will also witness a change.
https://youtu.be/lpxHxJhy9GQ?t=221
Let’s take a closer look at the changes ahead.
Pre-authorisation for UK
According to TheTravel.com, non-European travellers will have to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK from 8 January.
This includes citizens of United States, Canada, Australia .
The ETA scheme was previously applicable only to citizens of seven West Asian nations.
It is applicable all nationalities who do not require a visa for short stays.
Travellers will have to fill out a form online and pay around $12.75 (Rs 1081) before touching down.
As per the website, the ETA will likely be approved within hours.
However, it could take up to three business days in some instances.
The ETA would hold good for several trips to the UK for visits of up to six month.
It would be valid for two years or till the person’s passport expires – whichever comes first.
But there’s more.
From April 2, EU nationals too will need to get their ETA approved before entering the UK.
BBC quoted the home office as saying that the goal was to check whether people are eligible to come to the UK before they leave their home nations – thus creating a far more efficient system.
Your ETA status will be confirmed before you get on the plane to the UK through a digital link to your passport.
This, they say, will bring down the time taken and any mix-ups at border crossings.
The home office also says that collecting the details of travellers will also help tighten security.
“This expansion of ETA is a significant step forward in delivering a border that’s efficient and fit for the digital age," Seema Malhotra, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, was quoted as saying by the outlet. “Through light-touch screening before people step foot in the UK, we will keep our country safe while ensuring visitors have a smooth travel experience.”
European Union
The UK isn’t alone.
The EU from April 2 is also slated to roll out a similar programme.
This will be put in place for visa -exempt travellers from 60 nations including the UK, US, Canada and Australia and will apply to 30 EU member nations.
This system, known as the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), will also require travellers to apply online.
Travellers will have to cough up $7.40 (Rs 627).
Applications will take four days to be approved.
According to Manchester News, a separate Entry/Exits Scheme (EES) will also be rolled out in 2025 in the EU.
This automated IT system will be for non-EU nationals.
It will take the place of passports being stamped at the border.
The EES will also collect data from travellers including their personal details, where and when they entered and exited the EU, as well as biometric data including facial image and fingerprints.
The EU has not given a date for the system to be launched.
However, it has said that EES the will be rolled out in a ‘phased manner.’
The EC in December said it foresees a “progressive start of operations of the EES over a period of six months,” according to Travel Weekly
“In practice, that means that all member states will start operating the EES from day one at one or more border crossing points.”
“Border authorities will progressively register in the system the data of third-country nationals crossing the borders, starting with at least 10per cent of border crossings, and reaching full registration of all individuals by the end of the six months period.
“During this period, travellers’ data will be electronically recorded only at the borders where the EES will operate. In parallel, passports will continue being stamped at all borders.”
However, not everyone is happy with the changes.
“I’m sad about [the digitisation of travel] and also concerned,” Kita Jean, a frequent traveller and member of Nomadness Travel Tribe, an online community for travellers of colour told BBC. “Passport stamps are a great way to document memories and look back at, but they’re also good for when processes and technology fails.”
Change in Schengen
The Schengen Zone will also witness a change from January 1, 2025.
Bulgaria and Romania are set to become full members of the Schengen zone after a 13-year wait.
Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area in March after years of negotiations, providing free access for travelers arriving in both countries by air or sea.
Now, the EU has lifted land border controls on the two countries from next year.
Created in 1985, the Schengen Zone comprises 29 members – 25 of the 27 European Union member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
It is the world’s biggest area without internal border controls, where more than 400 million people can travel freely inside the zone.
The two countries, both members of the European Union since 2007, were partially integrated into the free movement zone in March, opening up travel by air and sea without border checks.
But Austria – until this week – held up their full entry over migration concerns, which meant that controls still applied at their land routes.
Vienna announced Monday that it would not use its veto at Thursday’s meeting of EU ministers, paving the way for the two to become full members from January 1, 2025.
“It is a historic moment to finally welcome Bulgaria and Romania,” said Interior Minister Sandor Pinter of Hungary, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
Bucharest and Sofia fulfilled all technical criteria set out by Brussels in 2010, but spent more than a decade waiting to join the Schengen zone as various member states blocked their entry.
With inputs from agenciesexpl
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