UK ETA application: the official steps, from passport scan to email
Independent site, not a government service: you apply only on GOV.UK or in the official UK ETA app.
Check first that your passport needs an ETA rather than a visa, then follow the steps below on the official service only.
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.
To apply for a UK ETA you need three things: the passport you will travel with, an email address and a way to pay the £20 fee (credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay). You apply either in the official UK ETA app, which scans the passport and your face with the phone camera, or online on GOV.UK, where you upload a photo of the passport and a photo of the face that follows the digital photo rules. Each traveller, babies included, needs their own application; in the app you can apply for someone who is with you, online for someone who is not. After payment you usually get a decision by email within a day, sometimes up to three working days, with a 16-digit ETA reference. You must not travel before that email arrives. The ETA is then linked to your passport, so you only show the passport at the airport, and it lasts two years or until the passport expires.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Before you start: ETA or visa?
The ETA is only for nationalities on the Home Office list. Your passport decides, not where you live: a US citizen living in Berlin applies for an ETA, while a resident of Germany with a passport from a visa country needs a visitor visa at £135. Use the checker above, or the Appendix ETA National List itself. British and Irish citizens, and people who already have permission to live, work or study in the UK, do not apply.
Step 1: get the passport and an email ready
Use the passport you will travel with. If you have two nationalities, pick one passport and travel on it, because the ETA follows the passport number. Give an email address you can read before departure: the decision and the reference number are sent there and nowhere else.
Step 2: choose the app or the website
In the UK ETA app, published by the Home Office on the App Store and Google Play, you scan the passport and then your face with the phone camera. On the GOV.UK form, you upload a photo of the passport and a photo of the face. Either way the fee is £20 and the decision is the same.
Step 3: answer the questions
The form asks for contact details, your job, and questions about criminal convictions and previous immigration problems. Answer them truthfully. GOV.UK points out that someone with a criminal record or a previous refusal of entry may prefer to apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead.
Step 4: pay and wait for the email
Payment is by credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The fee is not refunded once you have applied. Most decisions arrive within a day, but GOV.UK allows up to three working days, so do not leave it to the evening before a Monday flight. Enter your departure date below to see the last comfortable day to apply.
When should I apply?
Apply at the latest on
November 9, 2026
16 days left
GOV.UK: usually within a day, up to 3 working days.
Our margin: calendar days covering the longest official delay, weekends included.
Apply only at gov.uk/eta
If nothing has arrived after three working days, check your spam folder before contacting UK Visas and Immigration through its webchat; the phone line does not handle ETA questions. When you apply for several people, their decisions can arrive at different times.
Applying for your family or a group
One application per person, children and babies included, £20 each. On the app you can apply for someone standing next to you, because their passport and face are scanned on the spot. For a relative who is elsewhere, use the website with a photo of their passport and of their face. Agencies and schools organising a trip follow the same rule: each traveller needs an ETA linked to their own passport.
After the decision
The email gives a 16-digit ETA reference. Nothing else is needed: you show only your passport when you board and at the border. The ETA lasts two years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first, for any number of visits of up to six months. It also covers Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. A new passport means a new application. The cost page works out the total for a group, and the processing time page explains the wait.