HEATHROW, United Kingdom, Jan 8, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Visitors to the UK from
dozens of countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, must
now pay to enter Britain after a new visa-waiver entry system took effect on
Wednesday.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme -- similar to the ESTA
system in the United States -- requires visitors who do not need a visa to
enter Britain to acquire pre-travel authorisation.

Costing o10 ($12.50) and allowing stays of up to six months at a time over
two years, it first launched in 2023, with Qatar, before being extended last
year to five regional Gulf neighbours.

Now, it has been expanded to include citizens of around 50 more countries and
territories, from Argentina, Brazil and New Zealand to Japan, South Korea and
Caribbean nations.

With the system kicking in for them on Wednesday, they have been able to
apply since last November.

The scheme, aimed at tightening border security, will next be extended to
dozens of EU and European countries and territories on April 2.

Those citizens covered by the scheme will be able to apply for the new ETA --
which is digitally linked to the traveller's passport -- via an app, from
March 5.

Around six million people from the United States, Canada and Australia visit
Britain each year, according to the UK government.

Eligible travellers will need one even if they are just using the UK to
connect to an onward flight abroad. ETA also applies to children and babies.

Naila Hadi, a US woman in her fifties, told AFP at London's Heathrow Airport
that the new system was "easy" to navigate.

"We did it on our phones and they just scanned the passport, because this
passport has a chip,... and within 20 minutes we got our approval," said
Hadi, who had arrived from New Jersey with her daughter.

- Tourism impact -

Jackie Day, a 77-year-old arriving from Vancouver, said: "My only quibble is
that when I selected the country I was applying from, Canada, I had to pay in
US dollars."

"I had to scan the passport, I had to scan my face plus take a picture of my
face and fill out basic information about where I live, nothing complicated,"
she added.

However, Northern Ireland economy minister Conor Murphy warned that ETA will
have a "devastating" impact on tourism in the British province, given that
its neighbour the Republic of Ireland is not involved with the scheme.

Murphy fears that the cost and red tape will deter international tourists
visiting the Republic from making the journey across the land border to visit
Northern Ireland, and has called for a time-limited exemption for people
visiting up to seven days.

Heathrow has also opposed the scheme, saying its rollout has reduced the
number of passengers transiting through the UK, and that it makes the country
"less competitive" and harms economic growth.

The new requirement does not apply to British and Irish citizens, those with
passports from British overseas territories and legal UK residents.

It does not change the requirements for citizens of countries who need a visa
to visit Britain, such as Chinese, Ecuadorian and South African travellers.

Previously, most visitors not requiring a visa could arrive at a British
airport and proceed through immigration control with their passport.

The new UK entry scheme mirrors the imminent ETIAS scheme for visa-exempt
nationals travelling to 30 European countries, including France and Germany,
which will cost seven euros ($7.40) and last three years.

The European Commission expects the system -- which will apply to around 60
countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil and the UK -- to
become operational in the middle of this year.