Electronic Registration Requirements for Europe

If you're flying or cruising to Europe, then you will have a new annoyance to contend with.

In addition to a passport that won't expire for at least three months (cruise lines say six months) after you return home from your trip, you will also need electronic permission to enter Europe and the United Kingdom.

Julie and I recently applied for the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the United Kingdom, because we have flights scheduled with a plane change in London Heathrow Airport (LHR).  

First note is that my Android phone could not be used for the app (possibly because it is a couple of years old), but Julie's iPhone was able to register for both of us.  We did one at a time, starting with Julie, and we each used our respective e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers.

Trying to log-in resulted in several rejections, because the site was overloaded with others applying.  With no rhyme or reason beyond simply trying again and again, Julie was able to get on after a couple of minutes.

The process involved taking photos of our passports followed by a scan of our neutral faces (no smiling allowed!) to confirm we are the people on the passports.  We were told to scan our new passports that have embedded chips in the covers.

That cover scan didn't seem to work based on feedback on the phone's screen, but somehow all of our information was in the system.  Perhaps it read the info from the passport photo.  In any case, we took photos of our heads against a plain, light background using the template that rejected photos that didn't sufficiently feel the oval with a neutral expression. 

Finally, we paid using a credit card.  The price was $12.95 US each, which is essentially the dollar equivalent to 10 pounds.

This ETA will be valid for exactly two years, should we revisit the UK during that time.  It is electronic only.  No hard copy will be sent.  Approval takes a few minutes.

Europe is currently unwrapping a similar program called ETIAS.

As I say, it is not difficult, but it is required.

You can follow the hotlinks above for ETA and ETIAS to learn more.

Wes

P.S. Don't allow metaphoric cracks in the sidewalk stop you from exploring the world.