Traveling to London or anywhere in the United Kingdom now means you too might need a UK ETA to get in. Are you prepared?

A UK ETA is necessary for some

An Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is a requirement for many when traveling into the United Kingdom. This extra requirement has slowly rolled out enforcement:

• November 2023: Required for some Middle East countries
• January 2025: Required for all non-European visitors
• April 2025: Required for eligible European travelers
• February 2026: Full enforcement is now in effect

What does the ETA provide? The UK government wants to validate all those entering the country are permitted to do so. You can think of this as getting digital clearance to attempt an entry into the country, with the UK immigration officers making the final call. Getting an ETA does not guarantee you entry into the country–it just shows you aren’t on any concerning lists and you are who you say you are.

A UK ETA is valid for 2 years from the date of approval or until your passport expires, whichever is earlier. Once you have an ETA, you can enter as often as you’d like for up to six months at a time.

Who needs to apply?

All travelers to the United Kingdom who are not simply transiting the secure area of an airport must apply for and obtain an ETA. There are some who are exempt from applying:

• UK and Irish citizens, including dual citizens, do not need an ETA.
• Anyone who needs a visa to enter the UK does not need a separate ETA.
• Residents of Ireland (including those without Irish passports) do not need one provided they can prove legal residence.

The requirement to get an ETA applies whether you’re visiting the United Kingdom for vacation, visiting family, educational purposes, or business purposes.

The application process

Via phone app

The preference for applying for a UK ETA is to use the phone app. You’ll start by registering your email and your phone number so you can receive communications from them.

Afterwards, you’ll get a message asking if your passport has a biometric chip. Many passports issued recently have the biometric symbol on it. Choose the option that applies in your case.

Next, you’ll need to take a picture of your passport. The string of letters and numbers at the bottom of your photo page is what the app reads to fill out your information. If the app cannot read your passport, it will ask you to retry.

Next, if you indicated your passport has a biometric chip, the phone app will attempt to read it. You’ll need to place your phone on your passport and remove any phone case you have on it to get a better reading. You can try to either read the passport with the book closed or directly on your photo page.

Unfortunately, this might take a couple of attempts, as it seems to be sensitive and quick to give up.

From here, there are only a few last loose ends to tie up. The app will ask you to take a photo of the applicant using your phone’s camera. The applicant must be present; you cannot use a saved photo when applying.

And there are just a few more questions to answer. If an adult is applying, the app will then ask a few questions about you, including:

• Do you have a job?
• Have you ever had a criminal conviction in the UK or any other country?
• Have you ever supported, or been suspected of, war crimes, terrorism, or extremism?

If a child is applying, you’ll need to confirm who has parental responsibility for the child. The name of only one parent should be provided.

Lastly, you just need to pay the fee (£20 starting April 2026). Each applicant will go through the process one at a time. After you apply, you’ll receive an email noting your application. Regardless of approval or not, you’ll receive further communication at that same email.

Via online website

Official link to UK ETA website: https://www.gov.uk/eta

First off, if you attempt to apply online, you’ll be encouraged to apply via app. However, you can ignore this and apply online.

The entire process follows similar to the phone app experience, however there are a couple of differences:

• The applicant does not need to be present as saved photos are accepted
• There is no biometric screening of the passport
• Your passport does not need to be present during the application process and you just need a valid picture of it

In some ways, we consider the online application process to be a bit smoother than the phone app process.

Our experience with applying

Applying for a UK ETA was mostly seamless but we encountered one hiccup, as you might be able to tell from the photos above. The biggest issue was using the app, as it did not know how to proceed if it encountered an issue with the biometric data. Three of us had no issues rescanning the passport and making it work.

However, my passport appears to have biometric data that simply does not work as intended. While the suggested the only resolution for me was to contact the UK government, I instead just applied on their online website. Thankfully, I had no problems applying on their site, especially since there was no way to validate the biometric data in my passport. There were no complications checking into the flight and boarding nor was there any hold-up at immigration.

We applied for the ETA a few days before flying and we received approvals within one minute of applying. This included my submission via the website and not the app.

Once approved, there was no proof either the airline or immigration officers needed from us. However, I kept the approval email handy just in case.

FAQ for UK ETA

Are you ready to apply for a UK ETA?

Suggested reading:

• Destination Spotlight: London, United Kingdom
• Eurostar Premier: Better Than Economy But Still Pretty Basic
• Why You Need to Collect British Airways Avios