Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme on tourism.

Electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) have been introduced to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the UK. ETAs will help deliver a more streamlined, digital immigration system which will be quicker and more secure for the millions of people who pass through the UK border each year.

The Home Office published an initial impact assessment on the introduction of ETAs, and a further Impact Assessment published alongside the Fee Regulations in March that increased the chargeable ETA fee (alongside other fees) - The Immigration, Nationality and Passport (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

The experience of other countries with similar schemes in operation shows that genuine visitors are unlikely to be deterred by the small additional cost. For example, the USA (which operates the ESTA scheme) has seen continued growth in overseas visitor volumes since the introduction of the ESTA in 2010.