No ETA Required For French Schoolchildren To Visit UK

Charlie Immigration updates 14 November 2024 | Updated On November 18, 2024 | 0

From April 2025, visitors from visa-exempt European nations must get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before visiting the United Kingdom. This authorisation, which requires a valid passport, must be completed online before travel.

However, French school groups have been granted a temporary exemption from this requirement, allowing students on school-organised trips to continue using their national identity cards to enter the UK instead of needing an ETA.

Since the announcement, French schools and tour organisers have been seeking clarity on how this requirement might impact school trips to the UK. In response, the UK Home Office recently confirmed that schoolchildren from French schools will temporarily be allowed to travel using only a national ID card instead of requiring an ETA.

What ETA Temporary Exemption Covers

According to the UK’s Minister of State at the Home Office, David Hanson, the government has implemented a temporary measure that waives the ETA requirement for schoolchildren under 18 travelling with organised French school groups.

The exemption also allows these groups to continue entering the UK with only national identity cards, while visa-exempt international students within these groups remain subject to the passport requirement but do not need a UK visa.

To streamline the process, teachers or responsible adults in these groups must carry an authenticated list of the trip participants. This form can be accessed via the UK government’s official website.

This temporary measure is designed to remain in place until the UK can develop a more comprehensive solution for school groups.

“The government has carefully considered the impact of the ETA on French school groups and decided to grant a temporary exemption, allowing EU, EEA, and Swiss schoolchildren to continue using identity cards for organised school trips,”

UK’s Minister of State at the Home Office, David Hanson

For individual travellers, the UK’s ETA system, valid for two years, allows for multiple entries to the UK for tourism, family visits, business, or transit.

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