Continental Europeans who want to visit the British Channel Islands do not need to apply for an ETA until the end of 2025. This differs from the introduction date of the ETA for trips to the United Kingdom. Continental Europeans need a UK ETA to travel to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland from April 2025 onwards.

ID or passport for the Channel Islands

The British Channel Islands, consisting of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, are located only a few dozen kilometres from the French coast. Therefore, the Channel Islands are very popular among day visitors from France and other visitors to the French coastal region. Currently, travellers from the European Union may visit the Channel Islands easily. Most continental Europeans only need to show their passports.

There is a special rule for French travellers visiting the British Channel Islands. Until September 2025, visitors only have to present a French ID card to be allowed to travel to Jersey and Guernsey. Therefore, a passport is not necessary for people holding a French identity card. This special rule will definitively expire in September 2025, as the electronic travel authorisation ETA will be introduced on the Channel Islands by that time.

Introduction ETA UK

The ETA is an electronic travel authorisation that the United Kingdom is rolling out step-by-step to increase control over who enters the country. At this moment, the ETA is only mandatory for travellers from a few countries in the Middle East. However, from 2 April 2025 onwards, the ETA will become mandatory for everyone who wants to travel to the United Kingdom without a visa, including continental European travellers. The ETA will become mandatory for a visit to the Channel Islands a few months later.

ETA introduced later on the Channel Islands than the UK

While the UK makes the ETA mandatory on 2 April 2025 already, the Channel Islands will only introduce the ETA by the end of 2025. The exact date has not yet been announced, but a later introduction means that Europeans will be able to travel to Jersey and Guernsey easily in the summer of 2025.

ETA causes headaches for the Channel Islands

Day visitors are an important source of income for the British Channel Islands. Many of these day visitors decide to visit the islands spontaneously, which is fairly easily at this moment. However, the introduction of the ETA will make it a lot more difficult for continental Europeans to visit the British islands. That is because from the end of 2025 onwards, continental European travellers will have to apply for an ETA online before departing for the Channel Islands, which also includes an application fee. The ETA can only be applied with a passport. Non-British and non-Irish travellers will not be allowed to enter the Channel Islands without an ETA and a passport.

Many companies on the Channel Islands, including restaurants and tour operators, depend heavily on day visitors from France. As the introduction of the UK ETA will likely lead to fewer day visitors, many of these business will face severe difficulties. Travel experts expect that the ETA will cause the Channel Islands to lose millions of pounds in tourist spendings per year. Affected parties are currently still negotiating for a special rule for French day visitors, but it does not seem likely for such a rule to come into effect. That is because an exception could have negative consequences for the security situation in the United Kingdom.