Big Brother is watching you tour Big Ben or drink pints in that Irish pub.
The United Kingdom, which comprises England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, now has an Electronic Travel Authorization System (ETA).
According to the Travel Weekly website, the ETA started in 2023 and was just required for travelers from several Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.
Now, it's adding Americans traveling anywhere to the U.K. starting in January 2025.
Here's how this electronic traveling works.
If you're planning a vacation that includes any of the countries within the United Kingdom, a passport with a plane ticket alone won't cut it. You now must apply and be approved.
This approval will be electronically linked to our passport, basically digitizing the borders and immigration. The application for this new process starts on November 27 and will be used starting January 8, 2025.
Meanwhile, according to the Boundless website, starting in the first half of 2025, there will be a separate electronic system from the U.K. for traveling to European countries. It's called the European Travel Information and Authorization System.
ETIAS conducts background checks on applicants to identify potential security risks before granting them travel authorization to 30 European countries. called the ant to travel to other parts of European continent.
This, too, is linked to our passports and valid for up to three years or until our passport expires, whichever comes first. It will cost around $8.
The countries it includes are part of the Schengen area of Europe, which allows people to cross borders freely.
It includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
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