ETA for travel to London - needed or a scam

[Anonymous]

We haven't been abroad in over a decade - since before kids, so forgive this question if everyone else already knows. We, family of 5, are traveling to London over Christmas break, and a coworker asked if we'd gotten our ETA yet. I had no idea what she was talking about. Google found this: https://share.google/2CKQym77Y6XDmNGX4

Is this for real and needed and just another way to collect money from tourists? Or a scam?

[Anonymous]

Yes, you now need this to travel to the UK.

[Anonymous]

Why on earth would you have thought it’s a scam?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We haven't been abroad in over a decade - since before kids, so forgive this question if everyone else already knows. We, family of 5, are traveling to London over Christmas break, and a coworker asked if we'd gotten our ETA yet. I had no idea what she was talking about. Google found this: https://share.google/2CKQym77Y6XDmNGX4

Is this for real and needed and just another way to collect money from tourists? Or a scam?

You absolutely need it, but luckily it's pretty easy. Just did it for the first time over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Download the official app, you'll probably be approved in about 60 seconds and it is way easier than their website.

If you think this is a scam, and couldn't figure it out with 30 seconds of internet searching, perhaps you should reconsider travel.

[Anonymous]

It’s another way to gauge travelers but it’s not a scam. You have to have it.

[Anonymous]

It’s digitized immigration. I didn’t realize ETA was needed for Australia until I was at the airport in Honolulu. Luckily the airline staff helped me get connected and it was received within 15 minutes. A very stressful 15 minutes though.
Better to allow a few days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you have thought it’s a scam?

To be fair, these types of things are often surrounded by some sort of scam where somebody offers a "service" to get it for you and add on a $50 "expedited fee" or similar. Often if you google it those sponsored links show up above the official link.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s another way to gauge travelers but it’s not a scam. You have to have it.

Gouge.

The gauging comes at border control. They have to decide whether or not you're too shifty.

[Anonymous]

The ETIAS for the EU will also come online in about a year.

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/about-etias/what-is-etias

Also I think the US just announced it will charge visitors a similar fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ETIAS for the EU will also come online in about a year.

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/about-etias/what-is-etias

Also I think the US just announced it will charge visitors a similar fee.

The US has charged a visa waiver fee for many years, the system is called ESTA, it's $40/person.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta

[Anonymous]

yes recently went to england $10 - Wow I just checked New Zealand - $75! yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ETIAS for the EU will also come online in about a year.

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias/about-etias/what-is-etias

Also I think the US just announced it will charge visitors a similar fee.

The US has charged a visa waiver fee for many years, the system is called ESTA, it's $40/person.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta

Original fee started in 2010 and was $14 then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_System_for_Travel_Authorization

[Anonymous]

Have you not been reading the news for the past year?! It is not a scam in the least. Maybe you should go to EPCOT instead.

[Anonymous]

The ETA has been in place for nearly a year at this point, I applied for mine last December for January travel.

Just make sure you go to the official site. There are scam services that will charge a fee to do the application, which is totally unnecessary since it is a 5 minute process at most.