New immigration rules for those visiting the UK from overseas

This is an FYI for you to be prepared and should not be taken as absolute advice or assumed 100% accurate. Please check any requirements carefully and verify for yourself.

If you will be travelling to the conference from outside the UK, please be aware of new immigration rules that have come into effect starting January 2025 - although some rules came in at later dates.

Visitors to the UK who previously did not need a visa may be required to obtain an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) in advance of their travel. This is similar to other systems already in place in other parts of the world, such as the ESTA (USA) or eTA (Canada).

To quote from the Home Office's blog:

Visitors to the UK need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) if they do not need a visa for short stays of up to six months, or do not already have a UK immigration status.

More information, and to apply, visit this page on gov.uk.