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Electronic Travel Authorisation

Find out whether you need Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) if you are coming to the UK as a visitor.

What is an ETA

UK travel rules are changing. All traveller, including children, who are not British or Irish citizens will need permission to travel to the UK. This permission is called the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). Your stay must be shorter than six months and can include:

  • tourism visiting family or friends
  • business
  • transiting through the UK
  • short term study

If you want to come to UK for work or long term study, you will need a visa instead.

Once granted, it will be valid for multiple journeys to the UK for two years, or until the passport you applied with expires (whichever is sooner). You can travel to the UK as many times as you want during that time, but if you get a new passport, you will need to get a new ETA.

An ETA grants you permission to travel to the UK but does not grant you entry. It is not a visa or immigration permission and you will still need to go through passport control at the border to enter the UK.

You can find more information on the gov.uk web pages.

Find out if you need an ETA

Some nationalities need to get an ETA before they can travel to the UK.

You do not need an ETA if you:

You can apply for an ETA to travel to the UK now if you are a national of one of the following countries:

  • Bahrain
  • Kuwait
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • United Arab Emirates

If you are travelling on or after 08 January 2025, you can apply for an ETA now if you are a national of one of the following countries:

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • The Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Brunei
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala
  • Guyana
  • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including British national overseas)
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Kiribati
  • Macao Special Administrative Region
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Federated States of Micronesia
  • Nauru
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Palau
  • Panama
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Samoa
  • Seychelles
  • Singapore
  • Solomon Islands
  • South Korea
  • St Kitts and Nevis
  • St Lucia
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Taiwan (if you have a passport issued by Taiwan that includes in it the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan)
  • Tonga
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tuvalu
  • United States
  • Uruguay

If you are a national from one of the following countries, you can apply for an ETA from 05 March 2025. You can travel to the UK with an ETA from 02 April 2025:

  • Andorra
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Monaco
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • San Marino
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Vatican City

Other nationalities not listed above cannot get an ETA and will need a visa to come to the UK.

How to apply

If you need an ETA, apply early online before you book any travel.

The simplest way to apply is using the UK ETA app. You can find a link to download the UK ETA app on the gov.uk web pages. If you cannot use the app, you can apply online instead.

It costs £10 and you will need the passport you will travel with to apply. When using the UK ETA app you will be directed to take a picture of yourself and the photo page of your passport. If your passport has a biometric chip, the app will also ask you to scan you passport using your device. Please remove any passport cases/covers before scanning.

There is short form to fill in but you will not need to give details of your travel plans. After you have completed the form you will need to submit and pay for the ETA. You will get an ETA reference number and an email to confirm you have applied.

You should get a decision by email within three working days.

Travelling to the UK

When you check in for your journey to the UK, you may not be allowed to board without an ETA. The ETA is digitally linked to your passport so you don't need to show a paper copy. However, it may be helpful to print or have a digital copy of the confirmation email for your own records.

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