Visas for United Kingdom
Visa Travel International
Important information for United Kingdom
Electronic Travel Authorisation
From April 2, 2025, Europeans will be required to have a visa called ETA to travel to the United Kingdom for all types of travel (Business, Tourism, Studies, etc.).
The British Home Office has announced that to travel to the United Kingdom, obtaining a paid electronic visa will be compulsory. This dematerialized visa, called ETA for “Electronic Travel Authorization”, must be presented, with the biometric passport, by any visitor wishing to travel to British territory, with the exception of citizens of the Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Europeans will be the last to be affected by the implementation of this electronic visa.
This system is already in place in the United Kingdom for travelers from Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This obligation will be extended to the rest of the world’s citizens, except Europeans, from January 8, 2025. They will be able to apply for a visa from November 27, 2024 to anticipate this new measure.
European citizens, including the French, will be the last to have this new obligation linked to travel to the United Kingdom applied. They will be able to obtain their ETA from March 5, 2025, before it becomes compulsory to enter British territory from April 2, 2025.
Visa Travel International will be able to obtain this ETA for you and you will find all the necessary information on this page.
Information and conditions of entry into the country
Documents to be provided
FAQ
General information
To travel to the UK and since Brexit, a Visa is generally required with some exceptions.
Visa Travel International is an agency approved by the British Consulate to assist you in your procedures, regardless of the type of Visa you need.
To this end, you will find on this page all the information and answers to questions that will be useful to you in order to obtain your Visa. If this is not the case, do not hesitate to come back to us so that we can give you all the information you need.
Do you need a Visa for the United Kingdom?
If you are of French nationality and you wish to travel to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), simply presenting your biometric passport is sufficient (for a stay of less than 6 months). However, British immigration is considering (for travelers who currently do not need to obtain a Visa – EU members, etc.) the implementation of a travel authorization request electronic, ETA, but the implementation date remains to be confirmed (linked to your passport on which you submitted the ETA application). You will therefore need to present your biometric passport (mandatory) as well as this electronic travel authorization, ETA.
Thus, travelers currently exempt from a United Kingdom visa, such as French and European citizens, will have in the near future to obtain this ETA before traveling to England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.
Since Brexit, all trips lasting more than 6 months require obtaining a Visa, regardless of your nationality. In most situations you will then need to subscribe to a Standard Visitor Visa. This Visa must be taken out online and, after submitting fingerprints in a center based in Paris, it will be affixed to the passport.
Visa Travel International will be able to obtain these ETAs and/or Visas for you.
To note:
for other travel reasons (study, journalistic, sporting, etc.), there are many other types of Visas to take out before leaving for the United Kingdom. We only cover the Standard Visitor visa here. For any other type of Visa or if you are not sure what type of Visa you should apply for, please contact us at 01.42.25.13.65 or contact@visatravel.fr
Citizens of the following countries: United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are exempt from a British visa and eligible to obtain an ETA authorization (from February 22, 2024).
Travellers from Qatar need to obtain this ETA, available as of now.
Conditions of entry in the United Kingdom
To be able to enter the United Kingdom, the traveler must have their biometric passport (with Visa or ETA depending on the reason for travel and nationality).
It should be noted that, even if the traveler is in possession of all the documents required to validate his entry into the United Kingdom, the British authorities reserve the right to refuse access to their territory without having to justify it.
Understanding the Visa for the United Kingdom
The duration of the Visa granted will depend on the option you choose when registering online and the decision of UK Immigration. The validity of your Visa will take effect upon your entry into British territory.
The validity period of the ETA will be 2 years for multiple visits. If your passport expires in less than 2 years, you will need to sign up for a new ETA.
Documents to be provided: Standard visitor visa
An original passport, signed and valid for at least 6 months: to be presented when submitting fingerprints (do not send it to us)
- A photocopy of the passport data page.
- An information form to be filled-out and returned to us
- Latest bank statement over 3 months (demonstrating your financial capacity)
- A copy of the residence permit for non-european people as well as proof of address for non-french people.
- For a business trip:
- Invitation letter duly stamped and signed from the inviting company (specifying the dates of the stay, the reason, the address of the inviting company, the support that will be offered to you, etc.)
- Mission letter from the French company including the same details (date, reason, etc.) as the invitation letter and mentioning the coverage of various costs (travel, accommodation, various other costs) and that at the end of your stay you will be reinstated in your current position in France
- For a Tourism trip:
- Copy of your return flight ticket
- Copy of your hotel reservation
Documents to be provided: eVisa (ETA)
Hold an original passport, signed and valid for at least 6 months
- Scanning the page with passport photo (pdf format)
- A scan of a very good quality ID photo, light background, color and less than 6 months old (JPEG format)
- Complete the Information Form and return it to us by email
Eligibility for ETA:
Any traveler traveling to the UK for Tourism, Business, Visiting family and friends for a maximum period of 6 months
The traveler must be in possession of a biometric with a validity of six months.
Each traveler, including children, must have a passport and their own ETA.
The ETA must be requested no later than 72 hours before departure. Please note, we advise you to make your request as soon as possible; doing so at the last minute exposes you to failure to issue your ETA on time.
Following your ETA request:
The request is granted, your ETA will be offered as soon as possible.
The request is rejected. In this case, the applicant will have to apply for a visa/standard visitor visa/… from the consular service of the United Kingdom embassy (online – Visa Travel International can obtain it for you See above).
Your United Kingdom entry:
Submit your passport with ETA (or visa if applicable).
Offer a return flight ticket.
Present proof of solvency (credit card, check, cash, etc.).
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Your Visa for United Kingdom: Visas fees
NB : The lead times given here are the ones from Consulates and/or Embassies.
ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation)
VTI’s advice for your trip to the United Kingdom
Since Brexit, the United Kingdom has introduced many types of Visas depending on the purpose of your visit. It is possible to request fairly long periods (less than 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, etc. up to 10 years) and various options are possible when submitting your fingerprints to the TLS Paris center (accelerated procedure, keep your passport with you,…). For these reasons, it is complicated to place an order on the site and, as a result, we favor telephone contact to clearly understand your needs in relation to the available options and the response we will provide.
We recommend that you contact us before deciding on your travel date as delays can be quite long and procedures are often complicated.
01.42.25.13.65 and/or contact@visatravel.fr