Posted on 09/18/2024 7:31:33 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Americans planning to travel to the United Kingdom will have to pay a fee to enter the country starting next year.
The county's electronic travel authorization (ETA) fee will go into effect on January 8, 2025, according to the UK government.
US travelers will have to pay $13.05 (£10) to obtain the authorization which will be digitally linked to passports.
The authorization will be valid for multiple trips over two years for stays up to six months at a time, 'or until the holder's passport expires,' the government said.
US citizens can apply for an ETA starting on November 27, 2024 and should expect a response within at least three business days. Each traveler is required to have their own ETA, including all children.
'Everyone wishing to travel to the UK – except British and Irish citizens – will need permission to travel in advance of coming here,' according to the government.
Seema Malhotra, the United Kingdom's minister for migration and citizenship, said the new changes are part of a 'worldwide expansion' of the program.
'The worldwide expansion of the ETA demonstrates our commitment to enhance security through new technology and embedding a modern immigration system,' Malhorta said.
'Digitization enables a smooth experience for the millions of people who pass through the border every year, including the visitors we warmly welcome to the UK who are predicted to contribute over £32 billion to our tourism economy this year,' she added.
The country first introduced the ETA last year for visitors in seven Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates.
The UK also plans to expand ETAs to other countries and territories, including Canada, Japan, Mexico and Australia.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Easy, just don’t go. Nothing there but camel jockeys and beta males anyway.
This is right up there with "bombshell" news.
We are supposed to go over next September. In 2019, we flew into London and took a train down to Cornwall. Stayed several days and loved that area. Took a ferry across to the Normandy area and went to the WWII sites, then drove over to Verdun and visited the area where my husband’s great great uncle died in 1918 hours before the armistice was signed. Took a train back to Paris and flew home. Didn’t visit London or Paris other than landing and flying out. I hate cities.
It’s the principle, I guess. Thirteen bucks is nothing compared to the price of transportation, or admission to a public venue like, say Disney Land. Which, London is becoming, BTW.
Or... You can travel to France
“You’d think they’d be a bit more appreciative.
We whipped their butts in two wars and saved them in two more.”
Yes, but... their memory is in as short a supply as is their gratitude and their humility. And they are, after all, leftists.
Yeah, the US is pretty rude to normal foreign visitors. We are only nice to illegals.
well, to be fair - none of us here on FR were people who “whipped UK butt” or “saved UK butt”
WWII ended 79 years ago, that’s nearly 3 generations past.
Just as white Americans of today can’t be judged for reparations, the same for the English or Germans for the actions of their great-grandfathers.
Why was it the worst place? Was it some bad experiences or sights?
I lived there from around 2002 to 2006 and I did like the UK: whether the party towns (great for a 20 year old) to the historical sights (much of London, then Edinburgh, Bristol, York, Canterbury, Durham etc. etc.) or the countryside (the seven sisters or the west country or the midlands).
Also have done a few shorter trips to the UK (mostly London, but also Sussex and Wales) since after Covid, and it’s been pretty nice as well - for me.
Could you describe the experiences you had?
I would disagree with your brother in my opinion - it depends on where you go of course.
As a tourist, I would strongly suggest following the British Heritage tour sites and, while you ought to keep 3 to 4 days for London, don’t linger too much, but spend time in the museums (I can never get enough of the British war museum or the Imperial war museum) and the older parts of Westminster and the city.
Living there - well, that’s another question. I wouldn’t as it is too liberal for me.
As I pointed out above, it has a lot to offer tourists
If you are a history buff, you can happily spend a month around the place (I spend 3 days just pottering around Cambridge)
If you like nature, well, it hasn't got the grand vistas that are there in the USA, but the west country and the north of Scotland or the Orkneys have their own charm.
Have you ever been to the UK?
While some parts could be described as you did, most of the islands are definitely NOT.
And the second statement can happen in dodgier parts of London, but London accounts for nearly 90% of ALL Crime in the UK. So if you visit Britol, say, you’d find it far safer
ESTA fee (for Brits to visit the USA) = $21
ETA fee (for Americans to visit the UK) = $13.50
The UK’s tourism numbers aren’t looking good...
https://www.visitbritain.org/research-insights/inbound-visits-and-spend-quarterly-uk
The application fee for the most common nonimmigrant visa types is $185. This includes tourist, business, student, and exchange visas. Most petition-based visas, such as work and religious visas, are $205.00.
Your Deep State is locking up people for speech it doesn’t like.
Why in God’s name would I want to visit?
I get enough of that here in the US.
Tourist/business visa are not required for US citizens for a stay up to 90 days (the 90 day period begins when entering the Nordic area: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.)
Helsinki is kind of boring imho, but worth an afternoon-evening jaunt. The fish market and the central square are about it. Be aware that it may be terribly cold.
If you are travelling USA - UK - Helsinki - Thailand, that’s kind of weird. Why the UK-Helsinki bit?
And if you are transiting via London Heathrow be aware that that airport is huge and it can take you an hour or so from US gates to EU gates.
Don't believe the serials or the TV news. People outside the USA think it is like friends with loose morals, etc. and it isn't quite.
The same for the UK - the media (and social media is even worse) exaggerates the bad.

And further after brexit. Most citizens of EU countries aren't sure of what the rules would be, so they don't go.
Anyway, as I pointed out in #51, the UK has a lot of things to see
You would visit not to see the deep state but to experience walking Edinburgh’s streets, going through the Dover caves, hiking the west country, exploring the castles and museums.
But hey, it’s your choice to visit or not.
As a tourist, you aren’t going to be on the target list for the deep or shallow state
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