UK ETA Portal

Who needs an ETA

Most visitors travelling to the UK need an ETA or a visa. What you need depends on:

• Your nationality
• Why you're coming to the UK

You usually need an ETA rather than a visa if you’re from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other countries.

There are some people who do not need an ETA, for example if you have:

• a British or Irish passport
• permission to live, work or study in the UK

If you're traveling as a family or group:

• Each person travelling needs an ETA, including babies and children.
• You can apply for other people.

When you do not need an ETA

You do not need an ETA to travel to the UK if:

• you’re a British or Irish citizen
• you have a UK visa
• you have permission to live, work or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status or right of abode)
• you’re transiting through a UK airport and you will not pass through border control - check with your airline if you are not sure
• you’re travelling with a British overseas territories citizen passport
• you’re travelling with a British National (Overseas) passport
• you live in Ireland and you’re travelling from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man
• you’re a child travelling on the France-UK school trip travel information form
• you’re exempt from immigration control or do not need to get permission to enter

Dual citizens

If you’re a dual citizen with British or Irish citizenship, you cannot get an ETA. When you travel to the UK you’ll need to prove your citizenship using:

• a valid British passport
• a valid Irish passport
• another valid passport containing a certificate of entitlement

What you can and cannot do with an ETA

An ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK. If you have a criminal record or you were previously refused entry into the UK, you may want to apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead.

What you can do with an ETA

You can:

• come to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, on a business trip or for short-term study
• come to the UK for up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession
• come to the UK for a permitted paid engagement
• transit through a UK airport if you’ll pass through border control - check with your airline if you are not sure

If you’re coming to the UK for another reason, check if you need a visa instead.

What you cannot do with an ETA

You cannot:

• stay in the UK for longer than 6 months
• do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, unless you’re doing a permitted paid engagement or event or work on the Creative Worker visa concession
• claim public funds (benefits)
• live in the UK through frequent or successive visits
• marry or register a civil partner

Apply for an ETA

It costs US $98.00 to apply online.

You'll need:

• the passport you’ll travel with
• an email address
• a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay

When you apply, you’ll need to upload or take photos of the face of the person applying.

You can apply for someone else's ETA. You'll need a photo of their passport and a photo of their face.

Your ETA will be linked to the passport you applied with. You only need to show your passport when you travel to the UK.

Ready to apply?

Apply for the ETA.