Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying the same exemptions as apply to the EU ETIAS scheme for airside transit visitors to the UK’s ETA scheme.

One of the Government’s main priorities is to keep the UK safe. The Government is firmly committed to strengthening the UK’s border by ensuring that everyone wishing to travel to, or transit through, the UK (except British and Irish citizens) must seek permission in advance of travel.

The ETA scheme, once fully rolled out, will close the current gap in advance permissions for non-visa nationals, visiting or transiting the UK.

The information provided in an ETA application will be used to conduct checks and prevent anyone who poses a threat travelling to the UK.

Whilst the EU has taken a different approach to airside transit passengers in their ETIAS scheme, many of our international partners with similar schemes, such as the US, New Zealand and Canada, do apply the requirements of their respective scheme to transit passengers.