Many things affect the flow of tourists to a country and their demand to stay there for a period of time. And the advantages of a tourist visa play an important role in this framework. If there are some facilities for tourists to travel to an important tourist country, this will increase their demand to travel to it every year. Therefore, tourist countries are amending some of their tourist visa controls to encourage citizens of some countries to travel to them for the purpose of tourism. One of the countries that has done this is the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom visa (ETA)
It is essential that travelers from the GCC know that the UK travel visa (EVW) has been cancelled and replaced by the electronic travel visa (ETA). The travel visa (ETA) is an improved version, and its cost is lower since it costs the traveler a third of the cost of the previous visa regime.
To apply for an ETA travel permit, the applicant is required to provide biological and biometric information, and he will also find a set of questions on the application’s website related to his criminal record and visa eligibility to the UK.
After successfully overcoming these questions and requests, the travel permit (ETA) will be digitally linked to the applicant’s passport.
Countries eligible for a UK visa (ETA)
The United Kingdom has determined the countries to which it can travel under an ETA visa, and if we want to talk about the Gulf countries, GCC citizens do not need a regular travel visa; they can travel under an ETA visa, and by GCC we mean any of the following countries:
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the state of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, and the state of Qatar.
For GCC citizens to obtain an ETA visa, this means that they are exempt from visa requirements to travel to the United Kingdom for up to 6 months, provided that the trip is within the conditions that we will mention in the following address. Thus, it is sufficient for GCC citizens to submit an electronic permit application (ETA) to travel to the UK.
As for citizens of non-exempt countries, they need to obtain a regular visa for their trip, with the various applications required for obtaining a visa taking some time.
What are the conditions for obtaining a UK visa (ETA)?
If you are one of the countries eligible to obtain an ETA visa to travel to the UK, there are some conditions that must be met. These conditions are:
- Be a citizen of the GCC countries already mentioned.
- The reason for your visit to the UK is for tourism, work, study, or medical treatment.
- The period of your stay in the UK should not exceed 6 months.
- Each passenger should have their own ETA pass, including children.
If the first three conditions are not met, anyone wishing to travel to the UK will need to obtain a regular visit visa with the required fulfillment of some applications.
What are the advantages of a UK visa (ETA)?
One of the advantages of a UK visa (ETA) is that it:
- It allows travel for an indefinite number of trips to the UK and over two years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.
- The absence of the need for a regular visa for short visits to the UK for citizens of the Gulf countries.
- Ease of application, as the ETA visa application can be completed online within a few minutes.
- The speed of approval, where ETA visa applications are decided within hours, reaches a maximum of 48 hours, or only 72 hours.
- Valid for 6 months, the ETA visa allows the holder to travel to the UK several times during its validity period.
- With multiple entries, an ETA visa holder can enter and exit the UK without having to obtain a new visa each time.
- Save time and money, as the ETA visa saves time and money when traveling to the UK.
- Promote tourism, as the ETA visa helps to increase the number of tourists coming to the UK.
Conclusion
The UK is a major and important tourist destination for most tourists from all over the world. The travel and visiting facilities provided by the United Kingdom to the GCC countries make it easy for them to obtain a travel visa very quickly and easily. This is also beneficial for the UK itself, as hundreds of thousands of citizens travel to it from the Gulf countries alone every year.
