The United Kingdom (UK) Home Office’s latest quarterly visa statistics revealed more ETAs granted nearly a year after launch.
The Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) scheme received over 600,000 applications between October 2023 and September 2024.
The latest data also provides a snapshot of the evolving landscape of UK travel and migration.
This includes other immigration trends, including visitor visas, passenger arrivals, and long-term visa grants.
About 600,000 ETAs were granted in the first year
The UK ETA is a digital travel permit that allows non-visa UK visitors to have short stays of up to six months.
The pre-travel authorization requires non-visa nationals to apply for an ETA before their trip to the UK.
From October 2023 to September 2024, the Home Office granted 601,858 ETAs during the system’s first year of operation,
Of the total 608,886 ETA applications, only 7,028 were denied the travel permission.
The ETAs are granted to nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Qatar nationals have been able to apply for an ETA since October 2023 for UK travels on and after 15 November 2023.
ETA applications opened to more GCC countries and Jordan on 1 February 2024 for UK trips on and after 22 February 2024.
Of the total ETAs granted, 209,330 were issued to Saudi Arabians, 95,381 to Kuwaitis, and 54,945 to Emiratis.
Qataris received 44,403 ETAs, while Omanis received a total of 18,345 ETAs issued, and Bahrainis received 16,384.
Jordan nationals received the second-highest ETA grants at 162,859 and the highest number of rejections and refusals at 2,629.
Jordan nationals are no longer eligible to apply for an ETA starting September 2024.
The Home Office expects ETA applications, grants, and refusals to surge as the scheme opens to more non-visa travelers.
ETA applications from non-visa visitors from outside Europe opened on 27 November 2024 for UK trips on or after 8 January 2025.
European nationals can apply for an ETA on 5 March 2025 for travels to the UK on and after 2 April 2025.
Visitor and transit visas staying strong
The ETA scheme does not affect visa-required travelers or those coming to the UK for work, extended studies, or settlement.
The Home Office granted 2.1 million UK visitor visas in the year ending September 2024.
This represents an 11 percent increase from the past year but is still 12 percent short of 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
In the year ending September 2024, Indian nationals received the most visitor visas, with 538,974, or 25 percent.
Chinese nationals followed this closely, with 518,677 or 24 percent of total visitor visas granted.
Visitor visas for Chinese nationals increased significantly by 164,270, or 46 percent, compared to 2023, although still below 2019’s numbers.
Turkish nationals saw the next most significant increase, with 47,824 more visas granted.
This difference between the 2024 and 2019 numbers is primarily due to 123,905 fewer visitor visas granted to Chinese nationals.
It also reflected 119,881 fewer visitor visa grants to Saudi Arabians, who now require ETAs to come to the UK.
It also showed 95,500 fewer visitor visa grants to Russians following the start of the war in Ukraine.
On the other hand, the Home Office granted 16,765 transit visas to travelers passing through the UK en route to other destinations.
Other visa categories: work, study, family, and humanitarian
In addition to visitor visas, the Home Office issued over 1.1 million visas for long-term purposes. These include:
Work visas: 453,056 individuals and dependants were granted visas to fill critical roles, primarily in healthcare and technology.
Study visas: 443,854 international students received permission to pursue education in the UK. This includes dependants and study visa extensions.
Family visas: 86,942 family-related visas in 2024 reflected a 31 percent increase from last year.
Humanitarian visas: 90,709 people were issued visas for humanitarian reasons. This includes those who came to the UK via the Ukraine visa, Hong Kong BN(O) schemes, and Afghan resettlement programs.
Passenger arrivals vs. visa statistics
While visa and ETA statistics are essential, they do not fully capture the number of people entering the UK.
According to the Home Office, 130.9 million passenger arrivals occurred between October 2023 and September 2024.
The discrepancy points to many arrivals, especially British nationals, who do not need an ETA or visa to come home or visit the country.
Except for GCC nationals, non-visa nationals eligible for short stays are only granted permission to enter upon arrival at the UK border.
Additionally, multiple entries by the same individual on one visa or ETA inflate the total arrival numbers.
The broader ETA scheme rollout by 2025 will provide a clearer picture of non-visa visitor flows.
It represents a major step forward in understanding and managing visitor patterns.
Requiring non-visa travelers to apply for the digital travel permit allows the government to pre-screen them and improve border security.
It also means that the Home Office can gain better data on short-term arrivals while streamlining travel for low-risk travelers.
Modernizing the UK borders
BY 2025, the UK’s immigration and border checks will move to a “digital by default” system.
In addition to the ETA scheme, all individuals with UK immigration status must have an eVisa instead of physical cards or passport stamps.
This requires them to register and keep their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) accounts up-to-date, where their passports will be linked for easier checking.
As of October 2024, biometric residence cards are no longer issued, and long-stay visa holders must register on the UKVI platform.
All those with immigration status in the UK must have a UKVI account before the end of 2024.