News Digest: UK ETA Changes, Electricity Tariffs Fall & LAST CHANCE for Free Exhibition Tickets!

We covered the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in a recent News Digest. The new online authorization, which works similarly to the US ESTA, has been in place for all American, Australian, and other non-EU/EEA citizens for just two weeks now, but there are already a couple of changes. Firstly, the UK has announced a change to the rule that required transiting passengers to apply (and pay for) an ETA. This requirement has now been waived, with a “temporary exemption” applying to passengers whose flights connect in London without passing through UK border control. Whether or not this will be permanently adopted remains to be seen.

Secondly, and more controversially, a new proposal has been made to raise the fee for an ETA from £10 to £16 – a more than 50% rise. This proposal hasn’t yet been approved, but if you need to apply for an ETA for an upcoming trip, it might be prudent to do this sooner rather than later! You can find out more and apply for your ETA here.

The ETA will become mandatory for all travellers to the UK from April 2^nd, 2025.

There’s a rare bit of good news concerning household bills across France this week, as France’s Energy Regulatory Commission announced an expected 15% drop in electricity bills from February 1st. It’s the first time since 2015 that prices have gone down, and it could bring annual savings of hundreds of euros, especially for households that use electricity for water, heating, and cooking.

The new rates will only apply to those on France’s regulated tariffs, but often, the market price follows suit, so those on unregulated tariffs may also see a drop.

There’s less than one week to go until our most popular event of the year – the French Property Exhibition! Wherever you are in your journey of buying in France, whether on the hunt for the perfect property or still in the dreaming phase, this is a must-attend event. Nowhere else has all the experts and estate agents under one roof, ready to answer your questions and present thousands of properties for sale. It’s our longest-established property show and has been running for over 30 years, so we must be doing something right!

The 2025 French Property Exhibition, London, will be held on the 25th and 26th of January at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith.

If you do make it to the event, please come and say hi! I’ll be there along with the whole team from FrenchEntrée, French Property News, and France Media Group, and I’ll also be hosting our first-ever FrenchEntrée Members panel interview featuring a hand-picked selection of experts to answer your frequently asked questions LIVE!

Here’s a sneak-peek at the panel:

Debbie Nye, Property & Relocation Advisor, FrenchEntrée Members

• Buying property
• Moving to France
• French Tax

Ginny Mimault Independent real estate agent, IAD France

• French property
• The buying process

Arthur Cutler, Founder & Director, Navigate France

• Moving to France
• French administration
• Building/renovations

Thomas Nivert, Director, Societe2Courtage

• French mortgages
• Non-resident loans & financing

We’ll be covering topics including buying property, tax, mortgages, and moving to France, and if you want our panellists to answer your question, you can send me an email at zoe@frenchentree.com (note: this is a live seminar, so please try to keep questions as concise and to the point as possible!)

Sign up for your free tickets here or by clicking the button below.