International Visitor Visas

Policy Background

Visitors from some of the most important markets for international retail have to apply for a visa to visit the UK. Although the application system is relatively easy, leading to over 90% of applicants obtaining a visitor visa in key markets, and is continually being improved by the Government, we need to be constantly seeking enhancements which lower the visa application barrier while retaining Britain’s border security.

As the UK is not part of the Schengen area, visitors wanting to make a multi-country tour of Europe need to apply for two visas if they wish to visit mainland Europe and the UK. Having to apply twice for two separate visas stops many individuals and tour operators from adding the UK to their multi-country tours.

From 2023 the Government has been rolling out a new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and this is now in place for visitors from the GCC states and Jordan.  This is a web-based system, costing just £10 and in most cases, it does away with the need for a visitor visa.

We welcome this as a way of lowering the barriers for visitors to the UK from these important states without compromising security.

Until Schengen introduces its own system, the ETIAS, towards the end of 2024, Britain has a temporary advantage.  But as time goes on AIR is concerned about three potential consequences:

1. When the ETIAS is introduced by Schengen, Britain must ensure that the ETA product is as good or better than the ETIAS
2. The ETA will eventually be extended to include visitors from all countries, including those not currently requiring a visa, such as visitors from the USA or the EU. This is a new barrier to entry, albeit small, but we need to ensure that it does not act as a deterrent to visitors.  EU citizens, for example, can travel throughout to EU without needing and ETIAS but if they wish to come to the UK they will need to apply for an ETA.  So it will be easier for someone from Italy to travel to France than to travel to the UK.
3. Where possible we need to introduce the ETA as an alternative to a visitor visa for visitors from countries who are high spenders, for example, China.

Previous Project

Previiously, AIR has incorporated the UK China Visa Alliance (UKCVA) which worked with the Government to increase Chinese visitor numbers by enhancing the visitor product and application product. The UKCVA has helped to increase Chinese tourism to the UK by over 179% in five years through changes to UK visa policy and practices.  That is compared to the 129% growth in the Schengen area.