In a milestone for Britain’s post-Brexit border strategy, the UK Home Office confirmed at 00:01 GMT on 24 February that Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) checks are now live at all air, sea and rail entry points. French citizens—together with nationals of 84 other visa-exempt countries—must hold an approved ETA or risk being denied boarding. The £16 permission, valid for two years or until passport expiry, must be applied for through a mobile app that captures the traveller’s biographic details and a selfie.
![UK Starts Checking French Travellers for Electronic Travel Authorisation]()
To make the process easier, travellers and corporate mobility teams can use VisaHQ’s France platform (https://www.visahq.com/france/), which provides step-by-step assistance with ETA submissions, secure document uploads and live application tracking—all in one dashboard that integrates neatly with existing travel-approval workflows.
Carriers are required to verify ETA status via Advance Passenger Information feeds before issuing boarding passes. According to the Home Office, more than 10 million eVisas and ETAs have been issued during the phased pilot, but enforcement until now was light-touch. Eurostar and cross-Channel ferry operators told customers to expect spot checks at French departure terminals. At Paris Gare du Nord, additional UK Border Force officers were on hand to guide first-time applicants through QR-code kiosks. The International Chamber of Commerce in France welcomed the system’s predictability but urged the UK to integrate group business-visa functions ahead of the 2027 review. For French corporates the immediate implication is that short-notice travel to the UK now requires an extra administrative step. Mobility teams should update travel-approval workflows to include ETA confirmation, refresh employee data in duty-of-care platforms and remind dual-EU/third-country nationals to apply with the passport they will use to enter the UK. Failure to do so could invalidate the ETA and trigger fines on carriers.
To make the process easier, travellers and corporate mobility teams can use VisaHQ’s France platform (https://www.visahq.com/france/), which provides step-by-step assistance with ETA submissions, secure document uploads and live application tracking—all in one dashboard that integrates neatly with existing travel-approval workflows.
Carriers are required to verify ETA status via Advance Passenger Information feeds before issuing boarding passes. According to the Home Office, more than 10 million eVisas and ETAs have been issued during the phased pilot, but enforcement until now was light-touch. Eurostar and cross-Channel ferry operators told customers to expect spot checks at French departure terminals. At Paris Gare du Nord, additional UK Border Force officers were on hand to guide first-time applicants through QR-code kiosks. The International Chamber of Commerce in France welcomed the system’s predictability but urged the UK to integrate group business-visa functions ahead of the 2027 review. For French corporates the immediate implication is that short-notice travel to the UK now requires an extra administrative step. Mobility teams should update travel-approval workflows to include ETA confirmation, refresh employee data in duty-of-care platforms and remind dual-EU/third-country nationals to apply with the passport they will use to enter the UK. Failure to do so could invalidate the ETA and trigger fines on carriers.
