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 ...
I’ve been to the UK twice over the years.
Once on the 80s for a couple months.
Once in the 90s for a couple of weeks.
I’m reminded a lot of NYC before and after Giuliani.
I won’t visit the UK again until that changes.
But at least I’ll remember what it was like.
I visited the UK in the 80s as a kid, so the memories are greyish.
I would say that as a tourist, you’re not going to see big stand-out differences
My wife and I went there on our honeymoon in 1986.
I left with the impression that anyone with any “get up and go” got up and left 300 years ago.
Yeh, Europe is not the same place it used to be. In the early to mid 90’s I went 3 times and it was great. Ireland, Germany and France. Then the Muslim hordes invaded. I think London is now predominantly muslim. Why would anyone want to go there?
Scotland was beautiful. I could have stayed there a bit longer.
The food was not great. LOL.
The food in Ireland and France was great. Germany not so much. 😉
Now, keep in mind I was there many times for work. Here are my complaints...hard to find quick tasty food...miserable weather, rude hotel staff, grumpy people, exhausted by having to look left while crossing roads as pedestrian, dirty streets, overpriced everything, too many foreigners, crowded, tiny hotel rooms, bad vibes. I liked walking in Hyde though.
To be fair, despite all the bad things I’d heard about the TSA, I found them a lot nicer when I came into Florida last year than the Canadian border guards when I visited Canada a few years before.
They were very sullen in comparison.
Scummy as two tier Keir is, I doubt they give a damn about random foreign tourists saying something a bit spicy on the internet. Apart from anything else that would cause a diplomatic headache. (Governments throughout the world I suspect are more reluctant to harass foreigners over BS because domestic citizens can’t rely on another government to lobby on their behalf, their asses belong to their own government and nobody outside the country will care about their fate).
They might refuse to let someone prominent in though, and have done.
Bristol is woke left central though.
You will definately see a huge difference in the major cities, not so much in the countryside and smaller communities.
Never stayed tin Bristol, just visited. My point was that there are beautiful places and historical places to visit that might have left governments, but for a tourist, that’s not to be a big factor
well, to the point - unless you are one of the greatest generation, you personally didn’t save them in WWII.
And this is just quid pro quo of charging a few bucks for a visa
It is a plurality Christian, but no religion (or non-religion) has a majority)
There are some districts that are plurality Mohammedan (but not majority)
Tower hamlets for instance is about 40% Mohammedan and 30% Christian
But the second largest "belief" system is non-belief
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