WSJ Your Money Briefing - Planning a Trip to Europe Next Year? You’ll Need to Register Online First

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

Starting in 2025, new travel requirements will add an extra step and small fee for people visiting the U.K. and over two dozen other countries. Wall Street Journal travel reporter Allison Pohle joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss what you need to know before your next trip.  Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's your money briefing for Thursday, December 19th. I'm JR Whalen for the Wall Street Journal. Planning a trip to the UK in 2025? You'll need more than just your passport. There has been a major focus on immigration and security. Officials are putting in place these automated biometric border controls to better improve their nation's security and find out more information about people before they enter the country. We'll talk with Wall Street Journal travel reporter Alison Poley about what you need to know about applying for travel authorization.

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Wall Street Journal Travel Reporter Alison Pauley joins me. Alison, which travelers will have to apply for this authorization? Most travelers going to the UK and to Europe will have to apply for this authorization. So if you're somebody who's going on a vacation or going on a business trip, you will need to do this. Starting January 8th, travelers of all ages heading to the UK will need to apply for the authorization. Travelers heading to European countries have more time because the exact date for the authorization has not been announced yet. You said all ages, that includes children?

That includes children and babies. So their parents will need to do the authorization for them or their guardians or traveling companions. Why is this being put into place now? This has been many years in the making, but it's taken a while for the technology to catch up. for them or their guardians or traveling companions. Why is this being put into place now? This has been many years in the making, but it's taken a while for the technology to catch up. In Europe and in the UK,

there has been a major focus on immigration and security. Officials are putting in place these automated biometric border controls to better improve their nation's security and find out more information about people before they enter the country. How much personal data will travelers be asked to provide? When it comes to the UK authorization, and that's the one starting in January, you will need to download the app or go online and upload a picture of yourself as well as a picture of your passport.

So that's something that would have been checked at the border anyways. In the past, you would have to scan your passport and a photo would be taken using facial recognition. So that's the same. But for Europe, beginning in 2025, travelers will need to have four of their fingerprints scanned and a photo of their face taken. You mentioned a website. Which website is that?

So for the UK, the website is apply for an eta.homeoffice.gov.uk. But you can also Google UK ETA app and that should take you to the right place. So ETA stands for Electronic Travel Authorization. Is there a fee involved to register? So for the UK, it's about 10 pounds or a little bit less than 13 US dollars. And for the European countries that will be using this, it's about 7 euros, though again, that program hasn't been rolled out yet. So that's the number that's been thrown out in the past, but we'll see if it sticks.

CB What if a traveler doesn't want to be scanned? BT This is the tough one. If you do not want to be scanned, you cannot enter the country. So this is not optional. Every single traveler who is required to have this authorization will have to go through the scanning process. AC Do these rules apply if you're traveling to or from a country, let's say outside of Europe, but you have a layover in a European country? BT That will be the case if you're traveling to the UK. So say you're flying from New York City to Tokyo, but you have a layover in London, you still need to do the travel authorization,

even though that is not where you're ultimately going to be staying. CB. Will the registration be required regardless of how long your stay is? BT. Not exactly. So this is meant for short stays. So these are 90 days or less as a general rule. This is meant for somebody who's going on vacation or someone who has a business trip. This is not for someone who is permanently working or studying in these countries. In that case, you would need a visa. So this authorization is for people who are visa exempt. So again, not people staying for a very long period of time. These are shorter visits. So somebody planning a trip to Europe now, how long before their trip should they plan to fill

out the registration? If you're headed to the UK in particular, on or after January 8th, fill out the registration now. You should be able to do it online or through the app. For Europe, there is no travel authorization available yet for you to fill out. So if you are flying to Rome or to Barcelona beginning this winter, do not worry. There's no travel authorization for you to fill out. More information will be coming on an exact date.

My goodness, if someone's traveling with their, let's say their spouse, a family member, and four kids, you're gonna need a secretary with you to keep up with all the paperwork. Pretty much, and this is a massive change for American vacationers in particular. We're not used to having to do paperwork ahead of trips to the UK or to Europe, so

it requires a lot more advanced planning. That's WSJ reporter Alison Poley. And that's it for your Money Briefing. This episode was produced by Ariana Osborne with supervising producer Melanie Roy. I'm JR Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Thanks for listening. Bye!