The United Kingdom’s long-planned Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) regime became fully enforceable on 25 February, and community media highlighted the implications for French nationals in an advisory dated 2 March 2026. From now on, visa-exempt travellers – including citizens of France – must obtain the £16 digital permit before boarding any flight, ferry or Eurostar service to the UK, even when merely transiting through passport control for a connecting flight. The Home Office says most applicants receive approval within minutes via the mobile app, yet corporate-travel managers are reporting initial hiccups: passport numbers entered without the “FR” prefix generate mismatches, and travellers with multiple citizenships risk duplicating applications. HR teams should build ETA checks into pre-trip approval flows and employee-self-service booking tools; failure to hold a valid ETA is now grounds for carrier no-board decisions and civil penalties. While the £16 fee undercuts the US ESTA, ministers signalled that a price rise to £20 is likely later this year as the scheme scales. The ETA is valid for two years or until passport expiry and can cover multiple trips, but does not permit work. French assignees on the UK Expansion Worker route remain unaffected, yet spouses arriving later must still secure an ETA if they travel before their visas are issued. For French businesses, the key takeaway is to budget extra lead time – three working days is the official guidance – and to begin educating frequent travellers who previously treated the UK as virtually domestic under free movement rules before Brexit.
