United Kingdom: Final Expansion of Electronic Travel Authorisation

• ETA required for visa-free travelers. Under the ETA system, all visa-free nationals seeking to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months (and so do not need to apply for a visa) need to obtain digital permission to travel or transit (landside) through the country. Creative Workers coming to the United Kingdom for three months or less and relying on the Creative Worker Visa concession also need to apply.
• Application process. Applications can be submitted online or via the ETA app. Applicants must provide basic personal details, passport data, and a photograph. The application fee is GBP 10 but is due to increase to GBP 16 (Update April 9, 2025: The increase is now effective.)
• Validity. ETAs are valid for two years (unless the applicant’s passport expires sooner) and allow multiple trips to the United Kingdom. The ETA allows visa-free nationals to come to the United Kingdom for the purposes of tourism, business or short studies for up to six months (each visit).
• Permission to travel only. An ETA provides permission to travel to the United Kingdom but does not confer a right of entry, as the traveler must still comply with the relevant immigration entry requirements for visiting the United Kingdom.
• Exceptions. ETA requirements do not apply to Irish nationals; nor will they apply to non-Irish nationals lawfully residing in Ireland who are traveling to the United Kingdom from elsewhere in the Common Travel Area. Foreign nationals who have, or require, a visa (or equivalent permission) for entry into the United Kingdom are not subject to ETA requirements.

• Additional planning. Affected travelers, employees and employers will need to account for this additional procedural step and cost when making plans for travel or transit through the United Kingdom. An ETA application is intended to be processed within minutes, but travelers should be prepared for potential delays. In some cases, ETA applications can potentially take up to three days to process, and there is no appeal mechanism if an application is refused (necessitating either a new ETA application or a separate visa application).
• Monitoring of ETA. Travelers, employees and employers are advised to track the continued validity of their, or their employees’, ETAs.

• Digitalization efforts. The ETA is part of broader efforts by the UK government to fully digitalise the country’s immigration system.
• Information, monitoring and security. The ETA system is intended to provide more accurate information regarding the number of people travelling to the United Kingdom and where they are travelling from, in turn improving border security.

This marks the final stage of expansion of the UK ETA scheme, with the inclusion of all European nationals added to the list of other nationals already eligible for the scheme. No further expansion is currently scheduled.