Nationals from the GCC countries and Jordan will soon be required to pay £10 only to apply for an ETA permit, which allows them to visit the UK multiple times over a two-year period.
Before the recent decision, GCC citizens and Jordanians paid 30 and 100 sterling pounds respectively to visit the UK in accordance with the current electronic visa waver (EVA).
The new project includes citizens from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan.
The ETA system is expected to launch for Qatari citizens in October 2023, and for citizens of the rest of the GCC countries and Jordan in February 2024.
Earlier this year, the British government announced the launch of the new ETA system in light of its efforts to digitize UK border crossings by 2025 to enhance border security and visiting experience.
The ETA is a digital pass for travelers visiting the UK or transiting through the UK who don’t hold a short-visit visa or another type of UK visa.
Gulf visitors are of high importance for the UK economy. The latest figures showed that over 790,000 travelers from the GCC countries visited the UK and spent two billion sterling pounds last year.