New visit visa requirement for St Lucia and Nicaragua

AuthorCaroline Sykes

Nationals of St Lucia and Nicaragua now need a visit visa to travel to the UK following the latest statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1619, 5 March 2026.

St Lucia and Nicaragua have been removed from the list of countries eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

This change means that nationals of St Lucia and Nicaragua will now need to apply for a visit visa before coming to the UK. The visit visa application process takes more time and is more costly than the ETA process. The processing time for a visit visa is three weeks and starts at £127 whereas ETAs are typically issued within three working days and cost £16.

As a transitional measure, those who hold a confirmed travel booking and who held an ETA by 3pm on 5 March 2026 can travel until 16 April 2026.

The Home Secretary has cited an increase in asylum claims and concerns about St Lucia's Citizenship By Investment programme as the reason for the change.

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