VISASUNITED is your Partner for Visa
News
New Entry Requirement for EU Citizens: ETA for the UK Mandatory Since April 2, 2024
As of April 2, 2024, it is mandatory for all EU citizens to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before traveling to the United Kingdom. This requirement applies to both tourist and business visits. The ETA application must be completed online and is a prerequisite for entry into the UK.
The ETA was introduced with a consular fee of £10. However, starting April 9, 2025, this fee will increase to £16.
For more information on how to apply for the ETA and detailed requirements, please visit our website under the section “Visa for the UK”.
We recommend all travelers to familiarize themselves with the new entry requirements well in advance to avoid any delays.
From 2025, VFS Global will operate the new British visa application centers in Germany, replacing TLS Contact as the previous service provider for UK visa applications. During the transition, there will be temporary closures of visa centers. Regular operations are expected to resume in early January 2025.
The TLS Contact visa centers are scheduled to close as follows:
- TLS Contact Berlin - Closure on 20 December 2024
- TLS Contact Düsseldorf - Closure on 20 December 2024
- TLS Contact Munich - Closure on 29 November 2024
Until the new VFS Global visa centers open, applying for UK visas in Germany will be unavailable or significantly restricted.
In November/December 2024, the British visa authorities will change providers for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. From this date, the visa provider TLS will no longer be responsible for UK visas.
During the switchover from the Commercial partner provider TLS to VFS we will not be accepting any new orders for tourist visas. This is due to operational reasons such as fee and location changes. Orderly processing of applications will not be possible during this period. We hope to resume normal processing services from 06 January 2025.
Due to a technical update at the US consulates, no new interview appointments can be booked or payments of consular fees can be processed from 21 October 2024 to 25 October 2024. Please note that there may be slight delays during the changeover and also a few weeks after the changeover.
The Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for the United Kingdom (UK) is a new entry requirement that is being introduced gradually.
For a few countries, an ETA application must already be submitted before departure, for other countries this will soon be necessary.
For Germans and EU citizens, an ETA application can be applied for from March 5, 2025 and is mandatory for entries from April 2, 2025.
We would like to inform you that new applications for a tourist visa for Great Britain will be accepted again with immediate effect.
In addition, we kindly ask you to take note of the current information, especially regarding processing times, in advance!
We would like to inform you that the fees charged by the UK visa authority UKVI and the UK visa center TLS have been increased exorbitantly. This price increase totals about 20% and comes into effect immediately.
In particular, we would like to point out that the fees for the Visa Center and the priority fee have been almost doubled by the authority. This drastic increase may affect your travel and visa application costs.
It is important that you take these new fees into consideration when applying for a visa to the United Kingdom!
Tightening of ESTA requirements for passport holders of Hungarian citizenship
Since the beginning of August 2023, Hungarian citizens wishing to travel to the USA have to face new restrictions when using the ESTA. The previous validity period of the ESTA authorization has been reduced to a maximum of one year for Hungarian citizens as of August 1, 2023. This means that Hungarian travelers will now have to apply for a new ESTA authorization every time they plan to enter the country. When Hungarian citizens obtain an ESTA authorization, it is valid for only one year and entitles them to only one entry during that period. In contrast, citizens of other VWP countries are usually granted a two-year ESTA authorization, which allows them to enter the U.S. several times during those two years.
NOTE: ESTA authorizations issued before 01 August 2023 remain valid for the approved period and also allow multiple entries within this period. The new regulations therefore do not have a retroactive effect on existing ESTA authorizations for Hungarian citizens, but apply exclusively to new applications as of the aforementioned date.
Wir empfehlen dringend allen ungarischen VWP-Reisenden, bestehende ESTA-Genehmigungen vor Reiseantritt (online) auf Gültigkeit zu prüfen, um Problemen vorzubeugen.
Between 2011 and 2020, the Hungarian government granted nearly one million citizenships through a simplified naturalization process. According to U.S. authorities, this was done without adequate identity verification safeguards. Despite security concerns on the part of the United States, the Hungarian government decided not to fully close the existing loopholes in the naturalization process. This resulted in a tightening of access requirements to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for Hungarian passport holders.
In early August, the Hungarian government was informed that the validity period of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) for holders of Hungarian passports will be reduced from two to one year. In addition, the use of an ESTA will be limited to a single trip for Hungarian passport holders.
Despite continued efforts by the U.S. government to prevent these measures, Hungary has so far failed to address U.S. security concerns and meet the requirements for full participation in the VWP. The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is based on a close security partnership between the United States and selected countries. The U.S. sets strict security criteria, and in return, nationals of these countries are granted visa-free entry. If the conditions are not met, countries can be excluded from the program or, as in the case of Hungary, face restrictions.
Incidentally, this is not the first time for Hungary: already last year, U.S. authorities reacted with sanctions for the VWP country due to security concerns. Since then, only Hungarian nationals who were also born in Hungary have been allowed to participate in the VWP.
Such restrictions are extremely rare and have so far only affected nationals from Brunei. Since July 2023, they too have only been granted a one-year ESTA travel permit, but unlike Hungary, they are allowed to make several trips during this period.
Travel State GOV | CBP | DHS GOV | 16.08.2023
UPDATE ON APPLICANTS WHO WISH TO APPLY FOR AN ESTA AND HAVE BEEN TO CUBA BEFORE!
Travelers who entered or stayed in Cuba on or after January 12, 2021, and wish to enter the U.S. with ESTA authorization would NOT be able to apply for ESTA again. A Non-Immigrant Visa is required prior to departure. Please keep this in mind when planning your trip.
The U.S. Department of State designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) on January 12, 2021.With limited exceptions, a traveler who is found to have visited Cuba on or after this date is not eligible for travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) using an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and must apply for a visa to travel to the United States. Additionally, a traveler who at the time of application for an ESTA holds dual nationality with both a VWP country and Cuba is not eligible for travel under the VWP using an ESTA and must apply for a visa to travel to the United States.
If an ESTA has already been approved and it is later determined that the traveler has been present in Cuba or holds dual nationality with both a VWP country and Cuba, the ESTA will be revoked. Ineligibility for an ESTA is not a bar to travel to the United States. Individuals who are not eligible to travel under the VWP may apply for a visa at any U.S. embassy or consulate.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection | 10.07.2023
The U.S. Immigration Department has raised fees for all non-immigrant visa categories, effective June 17, 2023. The new fees are noted on the relevant order forms.
Please note that you need the current Adobe Reader to open our forms.
Welcome to Visas United - your independent visa agency
Wir begrüßen Sie herzlich auf der Seite von Visas United, Ihrer Visum Agentur für Visa aller Art.
Sie treten demnächst eine private oder geschäftliche Reise in ein Land an, in dem Sie ein Visum brauchen und wissen nicht, wie und wo Sie dieses Visum beantragen können? Wir unterstützen Sie bei der Visabeschaffung für zahlreiche Zielländer, unter anderem für Großbritannien und die USA. Sie kontaktieren uns und wir kümmern uns um den Rest. Unser Visum Service legt sehr hohen Wert auf eine individuelle Beratung und kann Ihnen so ideal bei der Beschaffung Ihres Visums zur Seite stehen. Gerne möchten wir Sie bei der Beantragung unterstützen, damit Sie sich voll und ganz auf Ihre Reiseplanung konzentrieren können.
Ein Visum ist die Erlaubnis, die Grenze eines bestimmten Landes zu überschreiten und in das Land einzureisen. Um ein Visum zu bekommen, müssen Sie in der Regel die Visaabteilung der Botschaft oder das Konsulat des Ziellandes kontaktieren. Diese Ämter können Ihren Antrag auf Visum genehmigen. Je nach Land kann das benötigte Visum und das Visumverfahren allerdings anders ausfallen. Besonders bei der USA, Kanada und UK werden spezielle Visa gefordert, um einreisen zu dürfen. Das Bewerbungsverfahren für UK und USA gilt übrigens nicht umsonst seit Jahren als eines der kompliziertesten auf der ganzen Welt.
Zu unserem Service für UK und die USA zählen die Visumbeantragung und die Vorbereitung der Unterlagen inklusive der Antragsübersetzung. Die ausgefüllten und vollständigen Unterlagen müssen vom Antragsteller anschließend nur noch persönlich mit den von den Behörden geforderten Unterlagen im Visacenter in Düsseldorf, Berlin oder München abgegeben werden. Ausnahme USA: Die Abgabe erfolgt in den Konsulaten in Frankfurt, Berlin oder München.
Unser Visum Service ist weltweit erreichbar
Um möglichst viele Menschen bei der Reiseplanung zu unterstützen, bietet unser Team einen weltweiten Visa Service an. Für die Beantragung in den folgenden Ländern unterstützen wir Sie gerne professionell und komplett unabhängig von Konsulaten und Behörden:
Ob als Au Pair, Student, Schüler, Besucher, Patient, Work & Traveller oder einfach nur als Tourist – wir bieten für jeden den passenden Visa Service an und kümmern uns darum, dass Sie Ihr Visum für Ihren Einreisegrund rechtzeitig und ohne Probleme erhalten.
Wie hoch sind die Kosten unseres Visum Services?
Die Gesamtkosten für unseren Visa Service setzen sich aus mehreren Teilbeträgen zusammen. Dazu zählen die folgenden:
- Konsulatsgebühren: fallen durch das Konsulat des jeweiligen Landes an, das Ihren Antrag bearbeitet
- Servicegebühren, die durch die Dienstleistungen der Visum Agentur entstehen. Dazu gehören unter anderem Centergebühren der Visacenter oder Versandkosten.
Beantragen Sie Ihr Visum selber beim zuständigen Konsulat entfallen die Servicegebühren für Sie. Beachten Sie jedoch, dass bei allen Konsulaten weltweit die entstandenen Konsulatsgebühren nicht zurückerstattet werden, sollten Sie die Unterlagen für die Visumbeantragung nicht vollständig einreichen oder falls Ihr Visum von den Beamten abgelehnt wird.
Fragen zum Visum Service
Sie wissen nicht, welches Visum Sie genau benötigen oder Sie haben noch Fragen zu unserem Visum Service? Zögern Sie nicht uns zu kontaktieren! Gerne vereinbaren wir umgehend einen persönlichen Beratungstermin mit Ihnen, damit Ihr Antrag möglichst schnell bearbeitet werden kann.