UK electronic visa waiver introduced for Oman, Qatar and UAE

United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Oman nationals will, from 1 January 2014, be able to visit the UK (for tourism, business or study purposes) for up to 6 months with an electronic visa waiver ("EVW"). The process is intended to be quicker than applying for a visa. Applicants will not need to provide biometric information (photo and fingerprints), attend a visa application centre or hand in your passport in advance of travel. Key factors include:

• an EVW can be completed up to 3 months before the travel date and must be completed at least 48 hours before departure to the UK
• if an applicant wishes to change his or her travel plans he or she must complete a new EVW form.
• each traveller must present a paper copy of their EVW at the departure port (air, sea or train) and again on arrival in the UK. Electronic copies on phones, tablets or personal computers will not be accepted
• the personal details on the EVW form must exactly match those shown in the passport being used to travel to the UK, including any other characters like hyphens or apostrophes
• the travel details on the EVW form must exactly match the journey being made. If they do not match, applicants will not be able to travel
• each EVW document is only valid for a single entry to the UK
• in addition to the EVW document, applicants must also present their passport on departure and again on arrival in the UK