French school trips to be exempt from UK’s upcoming travel authorisation
Students up to 18 years travelling to the UK as part of a French school trip will be exempted from the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to be introduced for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals on 2 April 2025.
This will allow European children on organised French school trips to continue using their identity cards, instead of the passport, “so long as they meet the requirements of the UK’s immigration rules,” a newsletter by the British Embassy to France says.
“This is a great result which will help us maintain educational and cultural links with our closest continental neighbour,” wrote British Ambassador to France Menna Rawlings.
The exemption is temporary and groups will have to complete the UK-FR School Travel Information Form, the note adds.
Teachers and guardians travelling as part of the trip, however, “will not be exempted and should ensure they have properly requested an ETA ahead of travel,” the newsletter also says.
What is the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
The ETA is required for people from visa-free countries travelling to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, to visit family and friends, for business or short-term study. It costs £10 and allows multiple journeys over a two-year period or until the holder’s passport expires, whichever is sooner.
The ETA has been introduced gradually. All eligible non-European visitors will need one to enter the UK from 8 January 2025. Citizens from EU countries, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City who travel to the UK for a short stay will need it from 2 April 2025.
As the application for an ETA requires a passport, there were concerns that existing arrangements for children from French schools would be put at risk.
The current system was launched on 28 December 2023 following a massive drop in study trips from France and the EU to the UK due to passport requirements introduced after Brexit. It also allows non-EU participants in French school groups to travel to the UK without a visa replicating for France the “list of travellers” used by EU countries before Brexit.
In October, Home Office minister Lord David Hanson confirmed in a written statement to parliament that the scheme will continue. “The government has considered the implications of the scheme on French school groups visiting the UK, and has agreed that children aged 18 and under travelling as part of a French school group will be temporarily exempted from the ETA requirement until a group solution is developed,” he wrote.
Several exemptions
As well as French school groups, a number of other people will not need an ETA to travel to the UK. They include UK and Irish citizens, visa holders and anyone with permission live, work or study in the UK (including EU citizens with settled or pre-settled status), and holders of a British overseas territories passport.
“People who are legally resident in Ireland and from a nationality that does not usually require a visa to visit the UK (e.g. EEA and US nationals), do not require an ETA when travelling to the UK from within the CTA [Common Travel Area], provided they hold acceptable evidence of their residence status,” the UK government website says. However, if they travel to the UK from outside of the Common Travel Area, they will need an ETA, the website adds.
Dual nationals can also avoid the ETA using their British or Irish passport.
Europeans can apply for the travel authorisation through the UK ETA app or on the UK government website from 5 March 2025.
Claudia Delpero, Europe Street News © all rights reserved
Image via Unsplash
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