There has been more information released on upcoming changes to country entry requirements. Get ready now with these updates to ensure they are incorporated into your future travel programmes.
travel to the UK
Electronic Travel Authorisation
The new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), announced by the Home Office earlier this year, will cost £10 for nationals of the GCC states and Jordan travelling to the UK.
Qatari nationals will be the first to use the scheme in October 2023, the rest of the GCC states and Jordan in February 2024 and a global expansion will take place throughout 2024.
Travellers will not require an ETA if they have a British or Irish passport, an existing visa or are permitted to live or work in the UK.
TRAVEL TO EUROPE
EU entry/exit system
An Entry/Exit System (EES), when travelling to the European Union, is now likely to be introduced in 2024.
Each time a traveller from third countries (those outside of the EU or Schengen Zone) crosses an EU external border, they will be registered automatically.
This will include the registering of names, date and place of entry and exit, and the systems will also capture biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images. The system will also be able to record whether the traveller is staying within the rules of the Schengen visa entry and exit rules. Third-country passport holders are only permitted to stays of 90 days within 180. Longer stays will require different visas depending on where they are travelling to.
ETIAS
The above will work in conjunction with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Third country, visa-exempt nationals, including the UK, US and Australia, will require an ETIAS visa waiver for short stays in Europe in 2024 (date TBC). There will be a processing charge – likely to be €7 for each online application – for travellers visiting the EU for business, tourism or transit reasons.
Schengen visas
The Parliament and the Council of the European Union have agreed on rules to digitalise the procedure for Schengen visas. While this still needs to be approved by the Member States of the EU before the adoption process can start, a new Schengen visa application platform will be created if successful.
TRAVEL TO ASIA
Visa updates
Visa-free travel to Indonesia is currently only available to the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. Travellers from 92 countries may apply for a Visa on Arrival, application made prior to departure. Travellers from all other countries must apply for a visa from the Indonesian consulate in their country or electronically through the official e-visa website.
UK, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Danish, Japanese and South Korean passport visitors to Vietnam will be able to stay in the country for 45 days without a visa; it was previously only 15 days.
TRAVEL TO SOUTH AMERICA
From October 2023, Brazil will once again require passport holders from the US, Australia, Canada and Japan to obtain a visa before entry.
Are you a Reed & Mackay client?
Your travel documents will be easy to locate within R&M/Portal. Travel managers are notified when a passport, or any other travel document, is nearing its expiry within the Traveller Profiles area of R&M/Portal.
