International travellers could require ETAs by the end of next year

The UK is introducing the Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme – known as ETAs – for people travelling from outside the UK.

While this will have no impact for travel between the Bailiwick and the UK, international travellers coming directly to the Bailiwick will likely need the document, which will cost £10.

Home Affairs has been working with the UK Home Office, and work continues to agree an exact date for the implementation across the Crown Dependencies, if the States approves the Bailiwick’s involvement.

Home Affairs president Rob Prow said if the States formally agreed the Bailiwick’s involvement later this year, the scheme will be extended to include the Bailiwick of Guernsey alongside the other Crown Dependencies at the end of 2025.

‘The ETA scheme will strengthen border security with checks undertaken prior to travel and will prevent those who may pose a risk from even boarding,’ he said.

‘This, in turn, will strengthen our position as a member of the Common Travel Area, a membership which is vital to the Bailiwick and which we must take the obligations of seriously.’

The UK Government recently published the timeline for the introduction of ETAs.

ETA was introduced to some nationalities earlier this year for travel into the UK and will be introduced for those who would not normally require a visa to enter the UK from 2025.

Eligible non-European nationals will apply for ETAs to travel to the UK from the start of 2025, and European nationals will apply from 2 April 2025.

Non-British nationals looking to come directly to the Channel Islands, such as on a ferry from St Malo, will not be required to apply for an ETA until much later in 2025.

But non-British nationals who travel to the Channel Islands via the UK, such as a flight to Gatwick from overseas connecting on to Guernsey, will have to apply for an ETA, as they will be entering the UK first.

The timings mean the successful ongoing scheme to allow French nationals to day trip to Guernsey using a National Identity card under the approved scheme with Manches Iles and Condor, which has previously been extended until September 2025, will likely have to end after that date.

‘While beneficial to the tourism industry, this scheme was always an interim measure ahead of the UK rolling out ETAs and would not align with our CTA obligations after that point,’ Deputy Prow said.

‘Fortunately, the dates allowed us to extend the scheme through next summer, ending in September 2025.’