Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) has refreshed its travel and security advice for the United Kingdom, placing a prominent warning that German citizens now need to secure Britain’s electronic travel authorisation (ETA) before boarding a plane, train or ferry. The notice, dated 25 September 2026, stresses that an ETA is obligatory for all short-term visits of up to six months unless the traveller already holds a different form of UK immigration permission. It also points out that the UK has replaced physical visa vignettes with a fully digital e-Visa record, meaning carriers will check an electronic permission-to-travel message rather than a sticker in the passport. The German update comes just four weeks before the UK plans to open ETA applications to all non-visa nationals worldwide. So far only nationals of the Gulf states and Jordan have been able to use the system; EU and EEA nationals, including Germans, enter the rollout next. By reminding travellers early, Berlin hopes to head off a repeat of the confusion seen earlier this year when some Gulf passengers were denied boarding because they had not downloaded their ETA approvals. For business travellers the message is clear: without an ETA or an existing UK immigration status (such as a Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility or Frontier Worker permit) entry will be refused. Mobility managers should therefore update pre-trip checklists, ensure that German assignees complete the simple mobile-app application—costing £10 and typically approved within hours—and store a back-up PDF of the approval in case of airline system outages. Companies that regularly send staff on short-notice meetings may wish to keep a small pool of employees with longer-term UK visas to avoid last-minute disruption. The advisory also reminds visitors that passports must be valid for the entire stay, that e-Gate eligibility remains unchanged, and that digital status holders are responsible for keeping passport details up to date in their UKVI accounts—a step many early adopters have overlooked, prompting delays at e-Gates this summer. Finally, it urges Germans resident in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme to download their e-Visa records before travelling to avoid difficulties re-entering after 1 January 2027, when physical biometric residence cards will cease to be accepted.
Source: Auswärtiges Amt
