Do I need an ETA for the UK? The rules for your passport
Independent site, not a government service: you apply only on GOV.UK or in the official UK ETA app.
Enter your passport: the checker reads the Home Office lists. The sections below cover the cases a list cannot settle on its own.
Official total, 1 traveller
£20
≈ €23.89
United Kingdom£20
UK ETA · €23.89
Valid 2 years or until the passport expires
Apply by November 18, 2026
One ETA per person, babies and children included.
No refund once you have applied.
Apply only at gov.uk/eta
Euro amounts: our conversion at the ECB reference rate of October 23, 2026; you pay in the official currency.
You need a UK ETA if your passport is on the Home Office ETA list, about 83 nationalities including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and every EU country, and you are visiting the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to six months without a visa or other permission. You do not need one if you are a British or Irish citizen, including a dual citizen, if you already hold a UK visa or permission to live, work or study in the UK (settled or pre-settled status included), if you change planes airside without passing UK border control, or if you live in Ireland and travel from Ireland or the Crown Dependencies. Nationals of the 115 countries on the visa list cannot use an ETA at all and apply for a visitor visa at £135. Age makes no difference: a baby on the ETA list needs its own ETA. The checker above applies these lists to your passport.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Your passport decides
The Home Office publishes two lists. Nationalities on the ETA list visit without a visa but need an ETA. Nationalities on the visa list need a visitor visa. Everything else follows from the passport you travel on, not from where you live or where your flight leaves. The ETA list grew in waves:
| ETA required from | Nationalities | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| November 15, 2023 | 1 | Qatar |
| February 22, 2024 | 5 | United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia |
| January 8, 2025 | 43 | Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brunei, … |
| April 2, 2025 | 34 | Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, … |
Who does not need an ETA
GOV.UK lists the exemptions: British and Irish citizens; anyone with a UK visa or with permission to live, work or study in the UK, including settled and pre-settled status and the right of abode; people with similar permission in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man; travellers with a British overseas territories citizen or British National (Overseas) passport; residents of Ireland arriving from the Common Travel Area; children on the France–UK school trip travel information form; and people waiting for a decision under the EU Settlement Scheme. If you fit one of these, do not pay for an ETA.
Transit: landside or airside
The rule is about border control, not about the airport. Connecting airside at Heathrow or Manchester, without collecting bags, needs no ETA. Passing through border control to reach another terminal, another airport or a hotel makes you landside: you need an ETA. Ask the airline how your ticket is routed if you are unsure.
How long it lasts once granted
An ETA lasts two years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you already have one, enter its issue date, your passport expiry and your next arrival below to see whether it still covers the trip.
Is my authorisation still valid?
Valid until
October 23, 2027
Covers your arrival date
| Term of the authorisation | 2 years |
| Limited by the passport | no |
A new passport cancels the link: the authorisation is tied to the passport you applied with.
When a visa is the better route
An ETA does not guarantee entry. GOV.UK suggests that someone with a criminal record or a previous refusal of entry may prefer a Standard Visitor visa, at £135, which is assessed before travel. A visa is also needed for stays over six months, for work beyond the permitted activities, and for a wedding in the UK. Travellers going to the United States, Canada or Australia afterwards need separate authorisations; the ESTA page and the Canada eTA page explain them.