Khabarni – Citizens have submitted dozens of complaints to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities due to the cancellation of their electronic visas to Britain by the United Kingdom government, according to Atallah Abu Assaf, a member of the Complaints Committee at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities appointed by the Tourism and Travel Agents Association.
Abu Assaf said, “The decision to cancel visas has inflicted great financial losses on many citizens resulting from the British government decision that prevented the travel of any Jordanian citizen who obtained an electronic visa and canceled his visa after the eighth day of this month despite travel reservations confirmed by citizens within the United Kingdom,” according to tomorrow.
It is noteworthy that, as of September 10, the British government suspended the electronic visa system (ETA) for Jordanians, while travel to it remains available to Jordanians who obtained a visa before this date.
But the surprise was when, on the 8th of this month, Britain decided to cancel the right of Jordanians to travel to it, even if they had obtained an electronic visa before the 10th of last September.
On September 10, the British government canceled the electronic visa that Jordanian citizens began enjoying several months ago, and any Jordanian wishing to visit Britain must apply for a visa through the embassy in the traditional way, which takes longer and is more expensive, while the British government maintained the e-visa. Electronic permits feature for citizens of all Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs recently announced that the British Embassy in Amman had officially informed it of the British authorities’ decision to stop working, as of September 10, 2024, on the electronic visa system (ETA), which the British authorities had announced at the beginning of last February, to facilitate the granting of… Electronic visas for Jordanian citizens wishing to visit the United Kingdom.
In this regard, Abu Assaf confirmed that the implementation of the decision was a surprise to citizens who obtained electronic visas from Britain before September 10, 2024, and as a result they booked flight tickets, hotel accommodation, and other arrangements that they had prepared for travel purposes, but they lost costs. All of it.
Abu Assaf stated that one family paid the costs of tickets, hotel reservations, and transportation, amounting to 10,000 dinars, after the electronic visa they had obtained before September 10, 2024, was cancelled. They thought that the decision to cancel electronic visas included those who had obtained them after This date.
Abu Assaf added that the Complaints Committee in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities addressed the concerned authorities, such as airline companies and the Civil Aviation Authority, with the need to return the amounts paid by citizens, because the decision that was taken was by the British government and there is no blame on the Jordanian citizen and he must be compensated and the amounts he paid must be returned for the purposes of travel.
He pointed out that the British decision was hasty and those who had booked tickets, accommodation and other arrangements should be allowed to travel, and the issuance of electronic visas should be stopped or the amounts paid to citizens should be returned.
The official spokesman for the ministry, Ambassador Dr. Sufyan Al-Qudah recently stated that the British authorities, in a letter from the British Home Secretary addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Affairs, attributed their decision to the continuation of abuses, and what they called in the letter “misuse” of these facilities by some citizens who traveled to the United Kingdom. .
The judges explained that the Ministry conducted a dialogue with the British authorities, through the Kingdom’s embassy in London, to develop solutions to address the violation of British residency and immigration laws by some traveling citizens, but the violators’ continued misuse of these facilities prompted the competent British authorities to reconsider the visa system. Electronically, and a return to the previous normal visa system, as was the case before the beginning of last February.
He stressed that the British decision can be amended in the future, and that dialogue is continuing with the British side to re-adopt the previous electronic visa system (ETA) under conditions that meet the requirements, indicating that the purpose of this system is to facilitate the visit of Jordanians to British territory.
Al-Qudah added that the Ministry had long ago formed a working team in order to improve the classification of the Jordanian passport globally, and its efforts were crowned with success in raising the classification of the Jordanian passport ten degrees according to the Henley and Partner classification from 2017 until 2024, which contributed to the movement of Jordanians between countries. world with ease, and the Ministry will continue its efforts to achieve further progress within the global classifications of the Jordanian passport.
This system came into effect at the end of last February, that is, approximately six months ago, when Gulf and Jordanian citizens were able to obtain an electronic travel permit called (ETA) within a few hours, a permit that benefited thousands of Jordanians who visited Britain during this period. Period.
