London: An official from the Home Office said on Monday that the new Electronic Travel Authorization program in the UK, which will be made available to citizens of Qatar in October and of the other Gulf Cooperation Council nations as well as Jordan in February, is at the forefront of government plans to overhaul the nation's immigration services.

At an Arab British Chamber of Commerce event in London on Monday, Lolade Onabolu remarked that the overhaul of the immigration system in the United Kingdom is "the biggest the Home Office has embarked upon in several decades."

The launch of the new authorization service in the GCC nations and Jordan, followed by a global rollout later in 2024, will aid in ensuring that travelers to the UK experience "smooth and efficient travel," according to previous statements from the Home Office.

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Travelers who apply for ETA must submit biometric data, personal information, and responses to a series of inquiries about their eligibility to enter the nation. According to the Home Office, this will expedite the immigration process to the UK and ensure that anyone deemed a threat is denied entry.

The goal, according to Onabolu, is to make the procedure for traveling to the UK much more streamlined and effective than it is at the moment.

The ETA program will play a significant role in the plan to accomplish this while also enhancing border security, she continued.

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The cost of requesting a travel authorization will be £10 ($13), which was announced during the event on Monday. This was described as being in line with comparable international programs. For instance, the US charges $21 for a travel authorization application submitted through its electronic system.

The UK authorization is valid for two years, during which time successful applicants may travel more than once. Any one stay may not exceed six months in length.

Onabolu claimed that the British scheme's accessibility to residents of the GCC countries and Jordan will set it apart from competing electronic programs run by the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which are currently closed to applicants from the region.

The service, according to project manager Vikki Lacey, will facilitate more affordable and effective business and leisure travel and is anticipated to be well-liked by local tourists.

The system, according to Cara Aikman, the lead technology product manager, received favorable feedback during recent trials in Qatar and the UAE.

"We tested the app with about 100 potential applicants earlier this year in the Gulf, spending some time in the UAE and Qatar, and we received really positive feedback," she said.

In order to ensure that the user experience is, ultimately, as good as it can be, "we also used a lot of what we learned there to inform future modifications, so we are currently making changes off the back of (that feedback)."

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If an ETA application is denied, the applicant is still free to submit an application for authorization under the current full visa and single-entry Electronic Visa Waiver programs.

By the end of 2024, all visitors to the UK who are exempt from visa requirements for short stays, including those from Europe, will be required to have submitted a successful ETA application. Currently, visitors to the UK from Europe and some other countries, such as the US and Australia, do not need to apply for a travel visa.