News
Please click on a news item below to view the entire news article.
The China visa centre in London will be closed from January 24th till 27th for the Chinese Spring Festival.
Entry requirements section and Summary – update to information on showing proof of vaccination against measles if you have travelled from or via Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the Philippines.
Change made
Safety and security (Air travel), Entry requirements (Visas) and Summary –
updated information on aviation safety; factual update on e-visas.
Russia Passport collection dates:
Dear applicants, please check passport collection dates when you are applying for Russian Visa during Christmas time and Russian New Year holidays here. Please note that these dates are not final and are subject to change.
Change made
Safety and security (Mozambique border) – factual update on cross-border
tension; Entry requirements (Visas) – factual update on obtaining e-visas.
Democratic Republic of the Congo travel advice
Change made
Summary – revised information on Ebola outbreak.
Following the latest European Council summit on Brexit, a further delay has been agreed to the UK’s departure from the European Union to Thursday 31 October 2019, at the latest.
This removes the threat of no-deal in the short-term, provided that the European Parliamentary elections take place as laid out in the Statutory Instrument that has been approved by Parliament, and covers the entire Summer season.
The Brexit extension provides certainty that people will be able to continue to travel to the European Union exactly as they do today, at least until the end of October 2019.
Advice for Members
We are also recommending that Members continue with contingency planning, as the no-deal scenario remains a possibility later in the year. We will continue to update our advice to Members in the coming weeks.
There is comprehensive advice and information for Members regarding Brexit available within the Member zone on ABTA.com https://www.abta.com/member-zone
Advice for Customers
The relevant extract of the information is below for your reference:
Home Office proposes changes to passport application fees
The Home Office has outlined plans to introduce different passport fees for online and postal applications as part of its push to increase the use of online services.
Under the plans, online applications, which are available to all UK-based applicants, will increase in line with inflation, taking the total from £72.50 to £75.50 for adults and £49 for children. Postal applications will increase by £12.50 to £85 for adults and £58.50 for children, reflecting the increased costs of processing postal applications compared to online applications.
The proposals, once approved by Parliament, are planned to come into force on 27 March 2018.
For more details see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-office-proposes-changes-to-passport-application-fees