# The UK ETA for Kuwaiti, Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Bahraini and Omani Citizens: What Replaced the Visa Waiver (2026 Guide)

> The UK ETA (£20, valid 2 years) replaced the Electronic Visa Waiver for Kuwait, Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman nationals. Eligibility, timing and mistakes to avoid.

Canonical: https://chartavisa.com/guides/uk-eta-gcc-citizens
Last updated: 2026-09-14

## UK ETA for Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman: what replaced the Electronic Visa Waiver

If you hold a Kuwaiti, Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Bahraini or Omani passport, the document you need for a short trip to the United Kingdom is the **ETA — Electronic Travel Authorisation**. It replaced the old **Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW)** that Gulf travellers used for years: Qatar moved to the ETA first, in November 2023, and Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE followed from 22 February 2024. The EVW has been withdrawn for all six nationalities, so a website still offering to sell you one is either out of date or a copycat.

The change is good news. The EVW cost £30, covered a *single* visit and had to be bought again before every trip. The ETA costs £20, is linked to your passport and covers **unlimited trips for two years**, each of up to six months. It is not a visa: it is an electronic permission to board and travel, checked by the airline before departure and by the Border Force officer on arrival. For the general scheme, see [what the UK ETA is](https://chartavisa.com/guides/what-is-uk-eta).

## Who is eligible — it is your passport, not where you live

This is the point that causes the most confusion in the region, so it deserves to be stated plainly: **the ETA is granted by nationality, never by residence**. A Kuwaiti citizen is eligible; a person who lives in Kuwait on an Indian, Egyptian, Pakistani, Filipino or Jordanian passport is not, even with a valid residence permit in that passport. The same applies to the millions of expatriate residents of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha: a UAE or Saudi residence visa does not make you eligible for anything. If your passport is not on the ETA list, you need a **Standard Visitor visa** (£135, biometrics at a visa application centre and typically three weeks of processing).

Two more edge cases. Gulf nationals who also hold a British passport do not need an ETA at all and must travel on the British document. And Jordanian citizens, who were briefly ETA-eligible in 2024, were removed from the scheme in September 2024 and now need a visa. Check your exact case on our country pages: [Kuwait](https://chartavisa.com/visa/kw/uk), [Saudi Arabia](https://chartavisa.com/visa/sa/uk), [UAE](https://chartavisa.com/visa/ae/uk), [Qatar](https://chartavisa.com/visa/qa/uk), [Bahrain](https://chartavisa.com/visa/bh/uk) and [Oman](https://chartavisa.com/visa/om/uk).

## Cost and validity: £20, two years, six months per visit

The official government fee is **£20 per person** (roughly 8 Kuwaiti dinars, or just under 100 Saudi riyals, dirhams or Qatari riyals at recent rates), paid by card when you submit. The fee rose from £16 to £20 on 8 April 2026, so any page still quoting £16 or £10 is stale. It is non-refundable, including if the application is refused.

An approved ETA is valid for **two years or until the passport it is linked to expires, whichever comes first**. It allows multiple entries for tourism, family visits, business meetings, medical treatment and short courses of under six months, with each stay capped at six months. It does not allow you to work, and an ETA never guarantees entry: the Border Force officer makes the final decision at the airport.

## How to apply and how long a decision takes

The only official route is the British government’s free **“UK ETA” app** (iOS and Android) or the GOV.UK website. The steps: scan the chip of your passport with your phone, take a photo of your face, answer a short set of questions about your job, address, criminal record and immigration history, and pay. One person can apply for several travellers from the same phone.

Most decisions arrive within minutes or hours, but the official guidance is to allow **up to three working days** — and note that a UK working day is Monday to Friday, so an application filed on a Thursday evening in Kuwait may not be reviewed until the following week. Since 25 February 2026 the rule has been strictly enforced: airlines are prohibited from boarding a passenger whose ETA is merely pending. Apply when you book your ticket, not at the check-in desk.

## Documents you need

- A **biometric passport** valid for your whole stay — all six GCC states now issue them, but older non-chip passports still circulate, and without a chip the app cannot read your details. Run your passport through our free [passport checker](https://chartavisa.com/tools/passport-checker) and read the [2026 passport requirements guide](https://chartavisa.com/guides/passport-requirements-2026) if you are unsure.
- A recent face photo, taken in the app against a plain background, without sunglasses or a head covering that hides the face (religious head coverings that leave the face visible are accepted).
- An email address you can access while travelling — the approval, and the reference number, arrive there.
- A debit or credit card for the £20.
- Your home address and employer details, exactly as you would write them for an official form.

You do not need a hotel booking, a return ticket, a bank statement or an invitation letter to get the ETA, although Border Force may still ask about your plans on arrival.

## Children and family trips

Every traveller needs their own ETA, including babies, and the £20 applies to each. Parents apply on behalf of minors from their own phone, and each child’s authorisation is linked to that child’s passport. The most common family mistake is applying for the children with a passport that is about to be renewed: the moment a new passport is issued, the old ETA is useless and must be reapplied for.

## Transit through Heathrow, Manchester or another UK airport

Gulf carriers route a great deal of traffic through London, so this matters: **you need an ETA to change planes in the UK** unless you stay airside — that is, you never pass through passport control — and that exemption is only possible at **Heathrow and Manchester**. If you collect luggage, change terminals through immigration, hold separately booked tickets, or connect at Gatwick, Birmingham or any other airport, the ETA is mandatory. At £20 for two years, frequent transit passengers should simply hold one.

## Country-by-country notes

- **Kuwait** — ETA-eligible since 22 February 2024; the EVW is withdrawn. Kuwaiti citizens can apply on our [UK ETA application](https://chartavisa.com/apply?visa=UK_ETA&origin=KW) or check the rules on the [Kuwait to UK page](https://chartavisa.com/visa/kw/uk).
- **Saudi Arabia** — eligible since 22 February 2024. [Saudi to UK requirements](https://chartavisa.com/visa/sa/uk).
- **United Arab Emirates** — eligible since 22 February 2024 for UAE *citizens* only. The UAE is where the residence-versus-nationality confusion is most common: an Emirates ID or residence visa does not qualify you. [UAE to UK requirements](https://chartavisa.com/visa/ae/uk).
- **Qatar** — the first Gulf state on the scheme: applications from 25 October 2023, required for travel from 15 November 2023. [Qatar to UK requirements](https://chartavisa.com/visa/qa/uk).
- **Bahrain** — eligible since 22 February 2024. [Bahrain to UK requirements](https://chartavisa.com/visa/bh/uk).
- **Oman** — eligible since 22 February 2024. [Oman to UK requirements](https://chartavisa.com/visa/om/uk).

## The most common mistakes we see from Gulf applicants

- **Paying a copycat website.** Search results for “UK ETA Kuwait” or “UK visa Saudi” are full of sites styled like GOV.UK that charge £80 or more, sometimes for nothing. The government fee is £20 and the official channel is the “UK ETA” app. Charta Visa is a private service: we prepare and check your application for a separate, clearly shown fee, and we never pretend to be the government.
- **Applying with the wrong passport.** Dual nationals must use the passport they will travel on; an ETA on your Kuwaiti passport is invisible to the airline if you check in with another document.
- **An expired or about-to-expire passport.** The ETA dies with the passport. Renew first, then apply.
- **Assuming residence counts.** Expatriate residents of the Gulf with non-eligible passports need a Standard Visitor visa — not an ETA.
- **Leaving it to the airport.** A pending application on the morning of the flight is a missed flight.
- **Mistyped passport numbers or an inconsistent name.** The ETA is matched digit by digit against the passport at check-in. This is exactly what our review catches: [start your UK ETA with Charta Visa](https://chartavisa.com/apply?visa=UK_ETA&origin=KW) and we run a 23-point error check before anything is submitted, with a refund guarantee if the authorisation is refused.

**Charta Visa is a private travel-authorisation review and processing service. We are not a government website and we are not affiliated with the UK government or any other government.**

## FAQ

**Do Kuwaiti citizens need a visa for the UK, or is the ETA enough?**

Kuwaiti citizens do not need a visa for visits of up to six months. Since 22 February 2024 they need a UK ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation), which replaced the Electronic Visa Waiver. It costs £20, is applied for in the official UK ETA app, and covers unlimited visits for two years or until the passport expires.

**Do Saudi citizens need a UK ETA?**

Yes. Saudi passport holders have needed an approved ETA to board a flight, train or ferry to the UK since 22 February 2024. Apply through the official app before you travel; allow up to three working days for a decision, although most are approved within hours.

**I live in the UAE on another country's passport — can I get the UK ETA?**

Only if your passport is on the eligible list. The ETA is based on nationality, not residence: UAE citizens qualify, but a resident of Dubai or Abu Dhabi holding, for example, an Indian, Egyptian or Pakistani passport needs a Standard Visitor visa, regardless of their residence visa.

**Do Qatari citizens need the UK ETA and how long does it last?**

Yes. Qatar was the first Gulf state moved onto the ETA, required for travel from 15 November 2023. An approved ETA is valid for two years or until the passport expires, with multiple entries of up to six months each.

**What is the Electronic Travel Authorisation for GCC nationals and how much does it cost?**

It is the UK's electronic permission to travel for visa-free nationals, including citizens of all six GCC states. It replaced the £30 single-trip Electronic Visa Waiver. The government fee is £20 per person since 8 April 2026, children included, and it is not refunded if the application is refused.

## Sources

- [GOV.UK — Apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)](https://www.gov.uk/eta)
- [GOV.UK — Electronic travel authorisation guidance](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta)
- [GOV.UK — Check if you need a UK visa](https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa)
- [GOV.UK — Standard Visitor visa](https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor)