This week marks the launch of the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, a significant development for business travel. From now on, non-European travellers must secure authorisation before flying, with the rule expanding to Europeans on April 2. In this context, The IAS, a team of qualified immigration lawyers, supports both individuals and businesses navigating global immigration issues. Okeregha explains the impact of the ETA on business travel and shares tips on how to ensure smooth compliance.
Speaking on whether the scheme disproportionately affects business travellers from BAME communities, especially those from high-volume countries or with complex immigration histories, Irfan Waheed, Immigration Lawyer at the Immigration Advice Service told Asian Voice, “When I think about the UK's new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, it’s not just the obvious hurdles that can cause serious issues for BAME business travellers. Digging deeper, you start to see how this could create some unequal situations. If perceived as a deterrent, the ETA might restrict travel among these networks, diminishing their effectiveness and leading to the loss of business opportunities.
“These networks are vital for knowledge transfer, market access, and cultural exchange, and these can be negatively affected if those who use them find travel to the UK more difficult than before. Many BAME businesses thrive on international connections. If the ETA discourages travel, it undermines these crucial connections. Delays or refusals can impact a BAME individual’s ability to engage in essential international work-related activities, hindering career progress.
“It could punish people, like a “mobility penalty,” if they constantly deal with extra checks or the anxiety of not knowing if they’ll get through to the UK. It also feels like this could end up reinforcing the "othering" of BAME travellers as if they’re all being viewed with suspicion.
“The added scrutiny and the higher chances of profiling create a feeling of constantly being watched and continually having to prove yourself. This is not a positive feeling for people simply trying to do business. For many BAME people, it’s going to dissuade business travel to the UK. It also likely places more stress on community organisations, which are already stretched thin.”
Addressing the challenges BAME professionals could face when navigating the ETA application process, he said, “It's not just about whether the algorithm is intentionally biased. It's about how, even if the system isn't trying to be discriminatory, it can still end up that way. Data points, like where you live, where you’ve travelled before, or even something as basic as your name, can unintentionally become proxies for race and trigger extra checks or delays.
“This is a problem because those secondary checks can drain people's time and resources. It’s more than just the £10 fee. The lost business opportunities, the hassle, and the reputational damage will severely impact these BAME travellers. For many minority-owned businesses, especially smaller ones, all this adds up.
“The £10 fee is far, far less than the overall impact on BAME businesses. This suffering may lead to lost productivity while dealing with application processes, the expense of seeking legal advice when things go wrong, and the potential damage to reputation and business relationships if travel is delayed or denied.
These hidden costs, often borne disproportionately by minority-owned businesses with fewer resources, can create a competitive disadvantage. The ETA process is just another hurdle for BAME entrepreneurs, who often face obstacles when trying to get funding, access markets, and connect with business networks. It might unintentionally create a system where some are unfairly disadvantaged and have less access to opportunities.”
Shasia Ershad, UK immigration caseworker at the Immigration Advice Service spoke to the newsweekly about the impact of the scheme on those from high-volume countries or with complex immigration histories. She said, “Governments, including the British, have aimed to reduce mass immigration, particularly to Europe, over the past decade. They have invested significant aid into low-income countries to address the root causes of migration, with the idea that creating jobs and opportunities in these countries would reduce the need for people to leave. However, this approach has not been entirely successful. While there has been an increase in cross-continent migration within Africa and Asia, migration to Europe and the US has continued to grow. This has resulted in these countries tightening their borders, which will disproportionately affect people from poorer countries with legitimate reasons to visit the UK; such as businesspeople who do not intend to stay or overstay.
“Due to this, the UK’s new ETA scheme could introduce biases against businesspeople from countries with historically high migration rates, leading to processing delays, increased scrutiny, and more refusals. Currently, only 3 African and 13 Asian countries are eligible for visa-exempt travel to the UK under the new ETA scheme. That being 48 countries in Asia and 54 in Africa, this means only 15% of these countries are eligible, with just 27% in Asia and 5% in Africa.
“Contrary to this, 66% of countries in the rest of the world are visa-exempt for UK travel, highlighting a significant disparity and an anti-poor country sentiment. This sentiment could influence the ETA system algorithms, increasing scrutiny based on country of origin or association. This issue extends beyond ETAs to visitor visas, disproportionately affecting businesspeople from Asia and Africa.”
