London Travel Documents
 

Does anyone have information on the new travel documents for US citizens traveling to England?

I've made a mess of my reply...I will try and organize and reply soon! Duh ..

I'll try again. I think you mean the ETA. I found this out quite by chance and it looks like you need it if you arrive in the UK after April 1. I applied and got ours online. Make sure you use the official UK website there are commercial vendors charging big bucks be careful. It costs either $10 or £10...maybe went up a bit but watch it. Application is a pain, I ended up taking a photo of my passport and my mug and uploading them when asked...they claim you can scan your passport with your phone but it never worked. You are notified quickly by email. It supposedly links to your passport but I printed out whatever they sent for physical proof. Better start now, use government website ..good luck. I'll be PO'd if I don't need it....better be safe.

Thank you this is very helpful.

The ETA came into effect in early January, not April.

Yes -- ETA has been mandatory for a couple of months. Here is my thread from back in Dec and into early Jan. https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...he-uk-1727357/

Its all electronic and supposedly you don't need to print out the confirmation, and everything is automated upon landing in the UK but your airline may ask for it when checking in. When I last flew into LHR in late January was through the eGates in seconds. AA wanted verification of my ETA at SMF (but the program was brand new and maybe that's changed). Nothing out of the ordinary at LHR arrival.

January, April....whatever. more foolishness and needless bureaucracy, and a way to grab £10 for more foolish and needless bureaucrats.

this thread ?
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...he-uk-1727357/

The Americans have been doing this to European visitors for years.

Just seems to me these schemes are foolish and unnecessary, regardless of the regime in charge or where they rule. We can certainly see the effectiveness of such added requirements over the past decade or so, worldwide.

At US airports, the ESTA does serve the purpose of speeding up the immigration queue a bit.

Can't say I ever noticed that!

It is partly because of ESTA that the UK and the EU and others are introducing these things. When is a visa not a visa? When it's called ESTA.

ANyway apply soon for the UK - there is talk of them putting up the price already.

Thank you for this information I want to make sure I have the correct documents.
(Entering Dominican Republic we had to submit online documents before the airlines would allow us to board. A nightmare trying to get this done at the airport.)

I’m relieved to know I need to complete this but I wish the airlines told me. Also iim traveling to France and Netherlands I’ll check to see if these countries have additional requirements too.

Joy...agreed. We were in the UK last November and going again April 6....I only picked this requirement up on travel forums such as this....no warning or alert from Cunard or the airlines. I am only transiting from the dock at Southampton nine miles by taxi directly to the Southampton airport, where we will board a plane to Ireland. And I guess I need this document. Seems silly to me.

I'd maybe re-think your attitude re this. The UK has let Americans slide with no visas or ETA's for decades (forever actually) whereas the US has made Brits jump through hoops all along . . . Same with most of Europe - we Americans have had ir easy for decades traveling all over without even having to think about visas or travel documents. Now we just have to follow the same sorts of rules everyone else has faced for decades.

I agree with janis about why we really can't complain about the new requirements.

Joy2, we can never count on the airline to give us accurate visa information. Years ago I went to Egypt. I knew from my research that an Egyptian visa could be obtained on arrival, but the check in person at the airline tried to tell me I should have done it in advance. We had to bring in a supervisor to tell her I was right and to let me on the plane.

Remember the days when Americans could fly to Mexico and the Caribbean without a passport? Back then I read a thread about a family going to Costa Rica. American Airlines had told them that their child didn't need a passport for that trip. Upon arrival in Costa Rica, they were detained and deported because the child didn't have a passport.

I'm glad you have the information you need, and we should all remember to do our own research. The airline is not the best source of information. It's good that you posted your question, and have a great trip.

THANK YOU
I appreciate everyone’s travel knowledgeI have no problem with the additional paperwork I just want to make sure my travel goes smoothly and I complete what’s needed.

No biggie....airlines are flying buses so I expect little from them, mostly inaccurate or wrong. Cunard is pretty good about warning people and holding their hands on crossings so I am kind of surprised this is not mentioned in their pre board material. In the last year we went to Switzerland France Italy UK and Ireland and needed none of this stuff. Anywhere. So it's just new is all. And cumbersome to apply.

ESTA came into force in the US in 2007. My husband needed it for our next trip to the US, but we didn't know about it. At our local airport, they told us we couldn't board the flight without it. However, they eventually let us board when we swore we'd try to get it in Rome before our connecting flight. That was quite an ordeal in the days before internet on phones, but we did manage.

It hasn't been any sort of hassle to renew it every two years. No one at US immigration has ever asked to see proof that we have it. I assume they have it on their computers.

When you apply for the ESTA (and I assume for the ETA and ETIAS) they do an automated database check to see if there are any blots on your escutcheon. If you flunk, they deny the ESTA, which means you have to apply for a visa if you really still want to go to the US. In recent years, the gate agents no longer even ask us if we have the ESTA, which surely means they can see that we have it. That would cut down, (but not completely eliminate) the airline's risk of having to give a free return flight to people turned away at immigration.

I'm convinced that it has speeded up the immigration queues, but I have no proof. It seems logical that they can immediately see some basic facts about you as soon as they see your passport. At least they know that you were able to get an ESTA.

wildiowa -- it does sound like you are angry with the airline. They are not shirking their duty or being 'lazy'. Honest - it is not an airline's (any airline) responsibility to inform travelers what sorts of documentation might be needed. It is the traveler's responsibility and most people in other countries are well aware of that. Americans now have to do the due diligence they've never worried about before. Visa / other documentation can change from one day to the next, people can have different requirements - sometimes even in the same family.

Most airlines do post something like "It's your responsibility to carry proof of permission to enter the country and all transit countries." If one missies or ignores that advisory it is on them.

Look -- the airlines do lots of things 'wrong' IMO, but this isn't one of them.