The UK Electronic Travel Authorisation: who needs one, what it costs and how refusals work

What the UK ETA is

An ETA lets a person travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to six months. It covers tourism, visiting family and certain other reasons ¹. It is linked to the passport used to apply, and the traveller only needs to show that passport at the border ².

An ETA does not guarantee entry. Border officers still decide on arrival ¹. The Home Office says people with a criminal record or a past refusal of entry to the UK may want to apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead ⁴.

With an ETA, a visitor can come for up to six months for tourism, family visits, business trips or short-term study. It covers a stay of up to three months under the Creative Worker visa concession and some short paid appearances allowed under the visitor rules ⁴. It does not allow work for a UK company, claims for public funds, or living in the UK through frequent visits ⁴.

Who needs an ETA and who does not

GOV.UK says that people from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada and certain other countries usually need an ETA rather than a visa ¹. The Home Office said in November 2025 that visitors of 85 nationalities would need one, including nationals of the United States, Canada and France ⁶. Every traveller needs their own ETA, including babies and children ¹.

British and Irish citizens do not need an ETA, and that includes dual citizens. Dual British citizens cannot get one and must travel on a valid British passport or with a certificate of entitlement ^3,7. People who need a UK visa, or who already have permission to live, work or study in the UK, fall outside the scheme ^3,5.

• British or Irish citizens, including dual citizens ³
• Holders of a UK visa ³
• People with UK permission to live, work or study, including settled or pre-settled status ³
• Holders of British overseas territories citizen or British National (Overseas) passports ³
• Residents of Ireland from ETA countries entering from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man ³
• Passengers in airside transit who do not pass UK border control ³

Fee, validity and how to apply

The ETA costs £20 to apply online or through the UK ETA app. There is no refund after applying ². The fee has risen twice. The scheme started at £10 in 2023 and rose to £16 in 2025 ¹¹. Parliament approved a higher fee cap in March 2026 ¹⁰, and the fee rose from £16 to £20 on 8 April 2026 ⁹.

An ETA lasts two years or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. Holders can travel to the UK as many times as they want until it expires ².

Applicants need the passport they will travel with, an email address and a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. They must take or upload a photo of their face ². The Home Office says applicants answer suitability and criminality questions ⁵. Most people get an automatic decision within minutes on the app. The Home Office advises applying at least three working days before travel, as a small number of cases need more review ⁵. GOV.UK says decisions usually arrive by email within a day and can take up to three working days ².

The UK ETA app

The UK ETA app is on Google Play and the App Store. It uses the phone camera to scan the passport and the applicant's face ². A person can apply for someone else on the app only if that person is with them. Otherwise they must apply online, with a photo of the other person's passport and face ².

Photos must follow the UK rules for digital photos of faces. A photo that does not meet the rules can delay or sink an application ². Approved applicants receive an email with a 16-digit ETA reference number and must wait for that email before travelling ².

Phased rollout and enforcement dates

The scheme launched in October 2023 ⁶. It opened first to nationals of Qatar, with the requirement starting on 15 November 2023, and then to other Gulf states ⁸. Jordanian nationals lost access to the ETA on 10 September 2024 when Jordan was moved to the visa list ⁸.

Most other non-European visa-free nationals could apply from 27 November 2024 and needed an ETA from 8 January 2025. European nationals could apply from 5 March 2025 and needed one from 2 April 2025 ⁸.

For the first period, the UK did not strictly enforce the rule, to give visitors time to adjust ⁶. The Home Office then set 25 February 2026 as the date of full enforcement. From that day, airlines must stop passengers from boarding if they lack an ETA, eVisa or other valid permission ⁷.

Transit through UK airports

Transit rules depend on whether the passenger passes through UK border control. A passenger who goes landside, through passport control, before continuing the journey needs an ETA ^1,4.

Passengers who stay airside and do not pass border control do not need one ³. The Home Office says transit passengers at Heathrow and Manchester who do not pass UK passport control do not currently need an ETA ⁵. GOV.UK tells travellers to check with their airline if unsure ¹.

Refusals, rejections and scam sites

The Home Office separates two outcomes. A rejected application has a stated reason, and the person can apply again. A refused application has no right of appeal, and the person must apply for a visa if they still want to travel ⁵. A person who needs to change details in an application must apply again ².

GOV.UK says other websites may charge more than the official fee and warns travellers to avoid sites that imitate government services. Applying through another website or app will not get a faster decision ^1,2. The Home Office tells people to apply on GOV.UK and to report immigration scams ⁵. Anyone can check whether they hold an ETA, and when it expires, through the GOV.UK Check your ETA service ¹.

Official figures on volume differ by measure. The Home Office said more than 13.3 million visitors had applied successfully by 24 November 2025 ⁶ and over 19 million by 24 February 2026 ⁷. Its April 2026 factsheet gives 24.8 million ETAs issued from launch to the end of 2025 ⁵. Grant and refusal figures appear in the quarterly UK immigration statistics ⁵.