Electronic Travel Authorisation

The UK ETA scheme was first rolled out to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals in November 2023 and was extended to European nationals (including EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens) from 8 January 2025. An ETA does not guarantee entry — Border Force retains the right to refuse entry on arrival. Applications are made through the UK ETA app or on GOV.UK and are typically decided within minutes or a few days. The ETA is linked to the specific passport used to apply; travellers must apply for a new ETA if they renew their passport. Certain people are exempt from needing an ETA, including British and Irish citizens, those with a valid UK visa or leave, and those in transit through a UK port without entering the UK. The fee is £10 per application.

In practice, an ETA behaves less like a visa and more like a pre-screening check that the airline or ferry operator verifies before you board. You apply for yourself and separately for every member of your party, including babies and children, because the authorisation attaches to a passport rather than to a booking. Most decisions arrive quickly, but the official advice is to apply at least three working days before travel, because a small proportion are referred for further checks.

Worked example: a family of four flying to London for a week each apply individually through the app, uploading a photo of the passport biographical page and a facial scan. Three approvals arrive within an hour; the fourth is referred and comes back two days later. Six months on, one of the children's passports is renewed after being damaged. Even though the ETA still has more than a year to run, it was linked to the old passport, so a fresh application and a fresh fee are needed before the next trip. The family also notes that the ETA permits visits and transit, not work or study, so a short unpaid internship would need a different route.

The misconceptions are the dangerous part. An ETA is not permission to enter — Border Force decides that at the border, and can refuse entry to someone holding a valid authorisation. It is not a substitute for a visa where one is required, and it does not extend the permitted length of a visit. It also does not cover people who already hold UK immigration status: if you have leave to remain, you use that status rather than applying for an ETA. Finally, only the official GOV.UK service and the UK ETA app charge the standard fee; third-party sites that add a service charge are not part of the scheme.

The ETA sits outside the points-based system that governs work and study routes, and it gives no right to work or right to rent in the UK. If you are visiting rather than moving, read our guide to the visitor route to check which permission your trip actually needs.