What Is the UK ETA? A Guide for Visa-Free Visitors

What is the UK ETA?

The UK ETA — Electronic Travel Authorisation — is the United Kingdom's digital pre-travel permission for visitors who don't need a visa. It is not a visa: it is an online authorisation electronically linked to your passport, closely modelled on the US ESTA and comparable to Europe's upcoming ETIAS. With an approved ETA you can visit the UK — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man — for tourism, visiting family, business meetings, short study, or transit, with stays of up to six months at a time.

The UK now expects every visitor to hold digital permission before travelling: either a visa, an existing UK immigration status, or an ETA. Carriers check for it before you board.

How the rollout happened

The ETA arrived in phases, by nationality, which is why many frequent UK visitors were caught off guard:

• November 2023 – 2024: the scheme launched with Qatar, then extended to the other Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE).
• 8 January 2025: required for all remaining visa-exempt non-European nationalities — including citizens of the US, Canada, and Australia (applications opened 27 November 2024).
• 2 April 2025: required for European nationals, including all EU citizens (applications opened 5 March 2025).

So today the rollout is complete: every visa-exempt visitor needs an ETA — the scheme now covers dozens of nationalities. Unsure whether that includes you? Check your requirement in a minute or browse requirements by nationality.

Who does NOT need an ETA

• British and Irish citizens — including dual citizens (though duals should travel on, or be able to prove, that citizenship).
• People with a UK visa or existing UK immigration status — permission to live, work, or study in the UK already covers you.
• Legal residents of Ireland from visa-exempt nationalities who enter the UK from within the Common Travel Area — see the Ireland note below.

Cost, validity, and what you get

The official government fee is £20 per application (the scheme launched at £10 and the fee has risen as it expanded). Each traveller — including children and babies — needs their own ETA. An approved ETA gives you:

• Two years of validity, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Like ESTA, it is tied to the exact passport you applied with — a new passport means a new ETA.
• Unlimited trips during that period, with no need to reapply each time.
• Stays of up to 6 months per visit — notably more generous than the Schengen area's 90 days or the US's 90-day VWP limit.

How to apply and how long it takes

The fastest route is the official UK ETA app (iOS and Android), which scans your passport chip and takes your photo; you can also apply on GOV.UK online. The application asks for your passport details, a facial photo, contact and employment information, and a short set of suitability questions (criminal history and immigration breaches).

Per the Home Office, most applicants get an automatic decision within minutes, but you should allow up to 3 working days for the small share of applications that need manual review. The ETA is linked to your passport electronically — there is no paper to print, though keeping the confirmation email is sensible. Decisions can't be expedited, so apply before you book anything time-critical, and make sure your passport itself is valid for the trip — see also our passport requirements guide.

Transit through UK airports

This catches many travellers out. The rule is about border control, not the airport itself:

• Landside transit — if you pass through UK passport control (to change terminals, collect and re-check bags, or on many self-transfer bookings), you need an ETA.
• Airside transit — passengers transiting Heathrow or Manchester who stay airside and do not cross passport control are currently exempt. The Home Office keeps this exemption under review, so verify it on GOV.UK close to travel, and check with your airline if you're unsure which kind of transit your booking involves.

The Ireland question

Ireland is a separate country with its own entry rules — an ETA is never needed to visit Ireland itself. But because there are no routine passport checks on the land border with Northern Ireland, the Common Travel Area creates a specific carve-out: legal residents of Ireland from visa-exempt nationalities do not need an ETA when entering the UK from within the CTA (Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, or the Isle of Man), provided they can show proof of Irish residence. Tourists merely visiting Ireland don't qualify — a visa-exempt tourist crossing from Dublin into Northern Ireland is expected to hold an ETA.

Who still needs a visa instead

An ETA only serves travellers who were already visa-exempt. You need a UK visa — not an ETA — if you are a visa-national (much of Africa, Asia, and South America), staying longer than six months, coming to work or study long-term, or if your ETA application is refused: there is no appeal, and the stated route is to apply for a visa instead.

Common refusal and error reasons

• Criminal history or past UK immigration breaches — the main grounds for outright refusal of an ETA.
• Passport typos or applying with the wrong passport — dual nationals must travel on the passport their ETA is linked to.
• Photo problems — glare, blur, or a poor facial capture in the app can stall an otherwise clean application.
• Applying through lookalike websites — third-party sites charging for nothing, or worse, submitting bad data on your behalf.
• Old-passport assumptions — renewing your passport silently invalidates the ETA attached to the old one.

One final point worth internalising: like every travel authorisation, an approved ETA lets you travel to the UK — Border Force makes the final entry decision on arrival. Travelling beyond the UK this year? Compare ESTA, ETIAS, and the other schemes in which travel authorisation you need, or check requirements for your nationality.