Jonathan Thomas (00:01) Welcome to the Anglotopia podcast. I'm doing a quick solo podcast this week to talk about two very important things. the first important thing that we're going to talk about is the new electronic travel authorization requirement to travel to the UK for Americans and actually the rest of the world. This is the biggest change to British travel and quite a long time. And it's very important that we talk about it. And additionally, we want to talk, we have a new book out and I'm to talk about that as well. So, first things first is we'll talk about the book because that's quicker and then we'll dive right into the electronic travel authorization because it's super important. So the new book is the British monarchy, a complete guide to Britain's Kings and Queens. This is the proof. So it's not quite the finished product, but it's, it's the only copy I had on my desk. I decided to do this, but the book is finished and it has been released. last week in fact as of this recording. It's been a great sales hit with Anglotopia followers. And it's been a book that's been a long time in the making for us. It's a continuation of the various books where we've compiled long articles, series that we published on Anglotopia over the years. And back in 2015, which seems like not that long ago, but it's now 10 years, we started a series on the British monarchs and where we kind of gave a survey of every king and queen of England. And we did it sporadically over the last 10 years. And so finally last year, we were kind of reached the end and had all of the monarchs since William the Conqueror. And so it was the perfect time to compile them into a book since the series of articles was done. And so the result is this. The British Monarchy, A Complete Guide to Britain's Kings and Queens. is an Anglophiles. Complete Guidebook to the British Royal History. so it's really two books combined into one, actually. I got a little carried away when I was putting the book together. The first sort of two thirds of the book is the surveys of every monarch. So and we start with William the Conqueror. And the reason, because with some historians that may be controversial, like why didn't we talk about Alfred the Great? Why didn't we talk about Ethelred or? Why didn't we talk about Harold Hadrada? Well, we wanted to start at 1066 because it was such a demarcation point in British history that the current king, Charles III, can draw a line directly from him to himself to William the Conqueror. every, it's really the beginning of all the ceremony that we're aware of, all the traditions to do with the crownings and. And so that's a good kind of spot to begin a survey like this. We may do another survey of the medieval kings at another point in time. But for now, this is the guidebook that you'll need from William the Conqueror to now. we also, we don't end the controversy there. We also include some people who were never crowned, some people who may not even consider part of the line of succession, like we have a whole chapter on the saga of Jane Grey, technically queen for nine or 10 days and then executed. so we cover little things like that. And then there's the period during the anarchy and the medieval era between Stephen and empress Matilda, Henry II So if you don't know what I'm talking about, get the book because it's all really super interesting. the succession of the kings and queens in Britain has never been straightforward. at least until the last two or three hundred years. And even then there was plenty of drama. And so that's the first two thirds of the book. And then there are 17 appendices at the end of the book, which is the back third of the book. And these are they're adaptations of articles we've published over the years that kind of give you like a Royal 101 things that you would want to know about the royal family about. British royal history. And I'll just, I mean, I'll just read the list off of it. It take me very long. has the current line of succession as of February, 2024 And in fact, I had to, I had to rip open the document and change it because I think it was Princess Eugenie had another baby. So I had to change it. so it is a, the line of succession is an ever changing, changing thing with the British monarchy. we cover the burial places of where all the Kings and Queens are buried. 10 major events that shaped the crown and that's another thing. Controversially, we have a chapter on Oliver Cromwell and the line of succession because you cannot talk about, you know, Britain's royal history without the interregnum and what in the civil wars and all that. Like, again, I love this stuff, but it's super interesting. We have a guide to royal palaces. have a guide to all the royal films you'll want to watch, royal TV shows, how to do royal protocol, titles, and all that wonderful etiquette stuff. We talk about the interregnum itself as a major event. We grabbed the big long read article. We have the website about the whole period and just threw it in the book because it's why not? You're going to want to know about this. About the Acts Union. We define all the different royal eras. We talk about the rebranding of the House of Saxe Coburg Gotha, into the House of Windsor right after World War I. We have a list of where every monarch was born, which not everyone was born in England, not everyone died in England either. We talk about the abdication crisis, the Regency area, what exactly is a crown, what does it mean, and we talk about the crown jewels as well, the actual physical objects. So it is a wide-ranging book. I will not read a selection from it because I'm sure you have heard enough about the book. It is available from booksellers everywhere. if it's available on Amazon, it's available directly from us. We prefer you buy it from us because that's the way we make the most money. We'll put a link to the Angotopia store in the show notes where you can order a copy. But it's also available on Amazon. It's available from most booksellers. because we've been able to expand the distribution. So you should be able to find it through your favorite bookstore. If you go to bookshop.org, you can get it through your local independent bookstore and then they get a cut of it. We also saw on thrift books, it's on a book, not a books. It might be on a books. I should probably double check myself. It's on Barnes and Noble and you can, anywhere you can buy a book, you should be able to buy. You can even, proudest of this, you can buy it from Blackwells in the UK. They have it listed in their catalog and you can buy it from them. For some reason, they don't have the cover with it, on the sales page, but you can buy it from them. And we encourage anybody who's outside of the US, who's listening to buy it from Blackwells because they excel at shipping outside the UK and then you'll probably get the best price. But also check with your local Amazon. And if you have Amazon in your country, a lot of people don't want to shop on Amazon anymore. So we're trying to give you as many ways as possible to buy the book. If you don't want to buy it directly from us. We've also released it on ebook this time. Well, we've released everything on ebook, but it's on Kindle. It's on the Kindle Unlimited program. So if you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you can access it. But also this time, because again, because a lot of people don't want to buy on Amazon, can, we're selling the DRM digital rights management free ebook version on our through our online store where you can buy it you can download it and you can put it on the e-reader of your choice. You can read on your computer. can read it on your Kindle, you can read on your Nook, you can read on your Kobo, you can read on your Android, anything. You can read it anywhere. We don't care what you do with it. It's a file. It's a file with no restrictions and control. and you can buy it directly from us and then you don't have to give Big Tech any your money if you want to read the ebook. So, well, again, we'll put links to that in the show note. And one final thing, there is an audio version available through Audible and through Amazon Audible and all that. It's read by a British voice because I think British history should be read by a British voice and nobody wants to listen to me for 20 hours. So as I... talk on my podcast that I hope you'll listen to. So that's the book. Links will be in the show notes and then it is time to move on to the next topic. So the electronic travel authorization, it's now March. This came into effect in January and they like, it's one of the, this has been one of those things that they've been talking about for years. And then suddenly, They've been talking about it for years, they've been delaying it for years, and then suddenly in December they decide, all right, we're doing it in January. And everyone's like, this is going to cause chaos. And for what I understand, it did cause a lot of chaos because if you don't do this and you don't complete this task, you cannot arrive in Britain. Like that's a problem. And so the real onus is on the airlines and making sure their passengers completed this thing. And so what am I talking about? So it's an electronic travel authorization and it's not a visa. So Americans and Canadians and Commonwealth visitors to the UK usually don't need a visa to come visit for tourism. We can come stay for up to six months as long as we're there to visit and we have a return ticket to leave. I don't recommend showing up for six months. You're going to get some questions, but you don't need a visa per se. But due to the vagaries of Brexit and how the borders now work within Europe, they need to create an electronic travel record of everybody who is coming and going from Britain. I'm not going to get into the politics of this. I shared my opinion on this matter on Angotopia back in January. I think it's essentially a stealth tax on tourists. Because we have to pay to do this and you have to you have to renew it every two years Now Any listeners outside the US are probably going what's the big deal all the visitors to the US have had to try have had to get an esta for decades and That is true That's something that that our government had this our governments basically required the same thing from any traveler coming into the US that you have to get an esta which is like, think it's two years and it gives you basically authorization to travel to the U.S. It's not a visa, it's just the authorization to travel. And if you don't have it, they will send you packing back to the UK or back to where you came from. And so really in a lot of people's eyes, this is the policy catching up with America that, well, if everybody else has to do this kind of America, then it's only fair that they have to do it going to Europe. And so... I don't know what the status is with doing this with continental Europe. I leave that to your own research. I'm here to talk about Britain. so Britain has enacted this, and you need to do this. And so... Let's see. Good thing I can cut this out later. Let's see. And so. What is an ETA? So it's basically a digital certificate that says that you can travel to the UK. And the UK government is using it to digitize its border and immigration system. That's the PR speak that they gave us a web. And they gave us publishers in a webinar about a year ago when I first learned about this. Like I said, they've been planning this for a long time and I've been aware that it's happening. And it's essentially this electronic document that's linked to your passport. It allows for enhanced security checks to be performed before you travel. And it helps prevent immigration system abuse. And it's all about basically tracking where you are and where you're going to be. And I think the issue with the primary reason is that when you would travel to Britain, you know, when they'd stamp you in, they have a record of you arriving to England. or to the United Kingdom, but when you leave, nobody, you don't get stamped out anymore. So they didn't have a record for when you leave. And so I think this is kind of an effort to kind of know who is coming and going. There's nothing bad about that. It just creates more paperwork and more hassle because if you don't do this and you spent thousands and thousands of dollars on a trip and don't know you needed to do this, then you're out that money. So always buy travel insurance. So the key info that you need to know about the ETA is that as I'm recording this, it costs 10 pounds. They are gonna be raising it to, let's see, 16 pounds when they get parliamentary approval, but for now it's 10 pounds. When you get it, it's valid for two years or until your passport expires. And then it's something that you'll always, have and they really want you to get it through their app that they've made. There's a way on their website or on the UK government's website you can get the ETA but they go through so many prompts to try to discourage you from doing it through their website. They really want you to use the app. And so if you, so there's a free app for iOS and Android and we'll go into the app in a minute. So. The question is though, who needs an ETA? Well, basically everybody eventually, but for now, all visitors to the UK need this pre-travel authorization, except British citizens, Irish citizens. If you have a UK visa or you have permission to live, and study in the UK already, or you're traveling with a British overseas territory citizen passport at the mouthful. So if you So basically tourists, so if you're British if you're Irish and if you have a visa to the UK You don't have to worry about this. That's fine. But if you are coming to Britain for leisure, you have to worry about this As I explained they really want you to use the app The app has an application process you have to pay a ten pound fee and then you have to wait for approval now I don't know how long approval takes I've talked to various Anglotopia readers where they did it and they had their approval within minutes, some within hours. And then in a few minutes, we're going to go through the process and see how that goes. So the key thing, the key like things you need to know the know from this is that you should do this as soon as you've booked a trip to Britain. You don't put this off to the last minute like You know, previously when, you know, when you book like when you book a British Airways and you check into your flight booking, you need to give them your passport and stuff. they, they like need that 24 hours before you travel. Well, I wouldn't wait to then to do this because if, for some reason you're denied the ETA, you don't have time to figure out why and to go through the process to be reconsidered. So do this as far out from your traveling as possible. I if you're like me and you're gonna be a semi regular visitor to the UK I would just always have this authorization Like done and renew it every two years. So you always have it That way nothing could ever come up to prevent you from arriving in the UK You can get denied authorization I haven't heard of anybody actually being denied, but they're supposed to be an appeal process I would be very interested to know if anybody's been denied and what that appeal process looks like and how much that costs because what I mean, what do you do if they deny you and it's all computerized and there's no help. So please let me know in the comments, like if you've been denied what the process is, if you've been denied. Now you are allowed multiple entries during the validity period. you. If you have the ETA and as an American, I can continue to travel to the UK as much as I would like during the two year period. And it's not going to affect my ability to be admitted to the UK. They might have questions about me coming and going to the UK a lot, but I've gotten extra questions before because, you know, I'm so vocal about loving Britain. They want to make sure I'm not coming there to stay, but it's valid for two years and you can use it as much as possible. It doesn't expire based on use. Like I said, two years. Also, and this is a key thing that they stress to us in the webinar I attended for publishers, an ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK, but not having one guarantees you won't get entry to the UK. make that make sense there. If again, your ability to enter the UK depends on the kind of visa you're entitled to. and as this podcast is mostly goes out to Americans, we are entitled to six months visa free travel in the UK. And then we need the ETA to assure that we have authorization to travel. So I think that's all the nitty gritty of that. Let's see. So I'm not a huge fan of unnecessary bureaucracy and I feel like this is kind of creating that for travelers. We already have enough paperwork to do to travel and they're adding this to it. But it's a small price to pay for, you know, for access to United Kingdom and all the wonders that it has. But it is, mean, being real here, it is a tourist tax. It is money that we didn't have to pay before that we now have to pay and... You know, it's all digital and servers anyway, so this is like. You know, 99 % profit for the tax collector for this, so. I don't know what the treasure his majesty's Treasury is going to do with the money I assume it just all goes into the same pot, but you know, I'm happy to help the British government fund the things that needs to fund because I love Britain so. And. Literally days after they implemented this they announced that they're gonna be like they're gonna be hiking at 60 % to 16 pounds so Clearly they're not afraid to to to make a constituency mad that that doesn't have a right to vote in the UK So tourists were easy targets for for stuff like this now Speaking of easy targets or stuff like this. We want to encourage people to watch out for scams because as soon as this was implemented, there were already scams being implemented of people. Like you don't need a third party service to apply for this. You can do it yourself. It's not a visa and it's not complicated, but there's already third party services out there. And actually if you search for the UK ETA or a few weeks ago, when I searched for the UK ETA app in the store, It gave the first result is an ad for a third party service that you pay to do it for you. And I don't approve of, of adding an extra layer of costs to tourists that they don't need. So be leery of third party services offering to do this. Now, if you get denied, then I could see you need a third party service to arbitrate on your behalf, but you don't need it. In most scenarios, you don't need a third party service to do this. You can do it yourself in the official UK ETA app. And so now I'm going to go through the process live and on camera to show how easy it is. have not, I have, I don't have an ETA. I've been waiting to do this for, um, when I was going to record this podcast, I don't have any immediate travel plans to the UK for 2025. mean, I'd love to go tomorrow, I, you know, responsibilities, family life, hopefully 2026 will be my year. So. I'm just going to apply and we're going to see what happens. this first we will do the App Store search, which I don't think I have the app right now. Let's see UK, UK ETA. Yeah, see like, so here, I'll take a screenshot. Maybe I'll put it in the show notes. That's an ad for a service. That's an ad for a service, third party service offering to do it for you. You don't need to do that. The official app is the one right here which says UK ETA with the crown. Trust the crown. The crown is the official one. So I already have the app. It wants me to update so first thing is update the app. We'll edit this out. The app has a rating of 2.9 stars, so people are clearly not happy with this app. So let's see. I have opened the app. Apply for an electronic travel authorization. You have to confirm your identity, answer some questions, and pay for your application. So again, camera focus there. I'll put screenshots in the show notes. I'll link to a gallery that shows you this. What you will need. It says what will you need. Take another screenshot. The passport that you will use to travel to the UK, access to your email, a credit or debit card. You can also pay using Apple Pay or Google Pay. Good, because I don't want to have to find my card. Start your ETA application. Use the app to apply for yourself or someone with you. If you're applying for someone not with you, apply online instead. And this was something that I was wondering about for families. So I'm that you just do, if you're a family, you just do all the whole family in one app. So. All right, start now. What email address do you want to use? I'll use my personal email because that's what I use for all travel documentation. So put in my email and they just sent me a six digit code. So now I gotta do that thing where I have to find all my tabs here. Let's see, go to my email. Let's see, where is my email? I will cut this out. Ooh, an email from UK Visas and Immigration. official. 961300. They want my phone number. 219. I probably should not read my phone number out on the podcast. Does your passport have a biometric chip? Yes it does. It's got the little thing at the bottom. take a photo of your passport cover. You need to take a photo of the passport you will use to travel to the UK. Your ETA will be linked to this passport. The photo must show all four corners on the details page, the machine readable zone, and the photo of you. So it wants me to open my passport and take a picture. So I'm not going to show my passport on video. access to my camera giving the British government access to my camera. Okay, it's captured it. Unable to take the image. Try to take the image you're documenting again. Okay, well let's try again. An image of your document has been successfully taken. Access the chip in your passport. This is so that we can check the information stored in your passport. Close your passport and remove any cases you have on the phone or on your passport before you continue. Put the top of the phone halfway down your passport. Place ready to scan. It's not working. It's not working. Move the phone to find the chip. And it's not working. So I didn't follow the directions. I didn't take my case off. So I'll take my case off. See if that makes a difference. Good information for you to know. All right. Chip not found. Okay, cases removed. Your passport is closed. The phone and document are touching. It says you can also try placing the phone on the page with your photo and personal details. Let's try that. Because it's not finding it through the cover. So then find it. I'm one more time. It is really not. Thank So it is not finding the chip in my passport, which is a problem because I know it's there because it has a little icon. Okay, chip not found. So I need to skip it finding the chip and see what happens now. You have chosen to skip. You may be asked to provide additional information. This information has been scanned from the MRZ in your passport. Check your passport to make sure it has been scanned correctly. It wants to know if the number is correct. Yes, yes, everything's correct. Scan your face with your phone's camera. Waiting. Okay, put your face in the oval. really hard. completed face scan successful take your photo to confirm your identity it wants plain light background so I think I should face the wall that doesn't have any so as you also you make sure there are no shadows okay take my headphones off. Okay, that wants me to take another photo. So I'm going to get up and go against the wall or the door, I think. So I will cut this part out, but I have to take another picture. Alright, that was successful. It did not like the paintings as a background. It wanted a white door as a background. So, no good. For when you do this, a blank wall behind you, even lighting, it said, no shadows. Okay, it wants my address. So the king is going to know where I live. I suppose that's fair, because we all know where he lives. You're gonna have to resist the urge. resist the urge to read out everything I've put in here. States. doesn't ask for state which is weird British don't recognize our states and now it's asking me in my nationality USA do you have a job this includes if you are self-employed well I can see why they asked that yes I have a job your job I have like three jobs so I don't know I mean Publisher. We'll just put publisher. Have you ever had a criminal conviction? Include convictions from any country. You do not need to tell us about convictions for activities that are legal in the UK, for example, trade union membership or same sex relationships. I have never been convicted of anything other than speeding tickets, which are misdemeanors, so those don't count. So no. Have you ever been involved in or suspected of any of the following? This is, I mean, I get why they asked this, but this is moderately amusing here. War crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity. Terrorism, including support for or membership of terrorist groups, supporting extremist groups or expressing extremist views. So Vladimir Putin can't fill out this application. Click no. Alright, check your answers carefully before you continue. You will not be able to change your answers after you submit your application. Everything's correct. Declaration. By sending this application, you confirm that to the best of your knowledge, the information you have given is correct. If you have given any false information, your application can be refused, you may be prosecuted, and you may be banned from the UK, which that could probably be like, I mean, death of close family members aside, that could probably be the worst thing to happen to me personally, would be the ban from the UK. If you are applying on behalf of someone else, you must have confirmed with them that the application is complete and correct. You cannot change your answers once you continue. Continue to payment. This determines what country are you applying from? I mean, you already know that, but OK, we'll answer it again. Because you are applying from United States, you will need to pay for your application in US dollars. Your application will cost 13. $13.42. This includes the fees for currency conversion. OK. I'm going to do Apple Pay. Okay. I have paid. Application submitted. It gives me a confirmation number. It says you have submitted your application. We have sent confirmation email to your email. If you do not receive this email, check your spam folder. What happens next? We will send you an email when we have made a decision on your ETA. Allow to three working days to get decision, but it may arrive much sooner. You can now close this app. And then at the bottom, there's... I can't show you now because it's got personal information. There's an option to apply for someone else. So if you're going to be applying as a family, that's probably where you'd start entering your children or your spouse. We're done. And I'm done. And so it says I am now done. I can close the app. So I will close the app and put it back in my case so I don't forget to do that and drop my phone and break it. And now the answer, the wonder is how long will it take? I don't know how long it's going to take. Like I said, some people have said it says. application approved. So at 442 PM we are processing your ETA application at 443 PM at to application approved. So that was ridiculously easy. mean, I'm thrilled. The king would like me to come to the UK now he has he has approved me. He now wants me to come to the UK. That's the email says ETA application approved. gives a confirmation number. He says your ETA is valid until the 12th of March, 2027. can, that's the future. You can travel to the UK as many times as you want until your ETA expires. Do not worry if your full name is not, blah, blah, blah, blah. When you travel to the UK, you only need your passport, which ends in 2400. You don't need to print or show it. You do not need, oh, so I was wondering like, what do you do? You know, Like, do you have to carry this documentation with you? So you do not need to print or show this confirmation email. You will need to go through border control when you arrive. So when you arrive at Heathrow now, at least at Terminal 5, there are e-gates. And so you don't go to the customs officer anymore and have your passport stamped. You go to the e-gate, you put your passport in, they put your hand in, and then they take your picture, and then the gate opens and you're in the UK. So now that you've done the electronic travel authorization, it's now their database has it linked to your passport. So in theory, I guess when you put your passport in the machine, it knows that you've done this and that will let you in. You don't need to carry it. If your details change, your ETA is linked to your passport. If you get a new passport, you'll need to apply for a new ETA to come to the UK. So that's a key bit of information there as well. So. If you lose your passport and you have to get a new one, you will have to reapply for this. My passport is good until 2030, so I've got a good five years before. I'll apply for three ETAs by then. Your ETA allows you to travel to the UK for six months for tourism, visiting family or friends, business, short-term study, courses up to six months, paid, permitted engagement. You must do the engagement. in the first 30 days of your visit That's interesting. I've often wondered, you know, because I conduct a lot of business in the UK and a lot of British companies do pay me to do things. I've wondered if, you know, I'm allowed to do that really like as, you know, apparently now you are. You can also use an ETA to transit through the UK or to come to the UK for up to three months as a creative worker. Huh, interesting. Never really seen it laid out like this. So this email is super helpful. So I applaud the comms people at the British government who have constructed these emails because they're, they're very easy to understand or roll it. They're well written. I mean, if you've a gov.uk is actually one of the finest examples of a informational government website that is extremely useful. helpful in finding what you want to do and getting you the information that you need and making it like, comprehensible to the normal person. Because believe me, I've been through the UK website, government website, many, many times looking for information on visas and immigration. And when there's major events, they funnel all the information through the gov.uk website. like for the coronation or when the queen died, like all this information. It's on the GovUK website and they have to make it as accessible to everyone as possible. So they have a great website. Your mileage may vary though. So that's it. That's my now have authorization to travel to the UK for the next two years. I should probably do this for my wife at some point or have her do it on her phone. Now does the app store anything? It doesn't. It literally is just applications. So I don't think the app stores your ETA. Like it's the ETA is stored in the cloud. So when you go to Britain, they already know. And if you don't do it, they're going to know and you will likely have not been let on the airplane to go to the UK to begin with because the airlines will have checked to make sure that you have electronic travel authorization. know, in my case, five was traveling pretty sure it was from Chicago. where I normally travel from, the lovely BA staff at O'Hare would have said, you don't have this, you're not going unless you fill this form out right now on your phone. So like I said, our stance is that you should do this whether you have travel plans or not that are booked, just so you have it. Do it with plenty of time in advance and make sure that you follow the directions and do it in the app on the phone. And then you are free to travel about the country as they say on the American, or is it American Airlines or something? It's Southwest free to travel about the country. don't know. So this went on for way longer than I thought it would, but I think it was critical to show people that the process is relatively simple and that it's nothing to be afraid of and that it's important. You need to do this and all it does is ensure that you are able to continue to travel to the UK Which to me is the best thing in the world. So The king has said I can I could come as much as I want So I'm gonna I'm gonna take him up on that He got my thirteen dollars and 42 cents and I'm gonna take advantage of it. So thank you everybody links and information will be in the show notes and If you enjoyed the Anglotopia podcast, please don't forget to like subscribe and leave a comment and we'll see you next time.