How to Apply for a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)

To apply for a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation, open the UK ETA app or go to GOV.UK, scan or enter your passport details, submit a photo of your face, answer a short set of screening questions, and pay £20. Most applicants get a decision by email within minutes, though the Home Office asks you to apply at least three working days before you travel.¹ An approved ETA lasts two years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first, and covers unlimited visits of up to six months each.

Check That You Actually Need One

The ETA applies to travelers from more than 80 nationalities that previously entered the UK without a visa, including citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, all EU and EEA countries, Japan, and South Korea.² It covers tourism, visiting family or friends, business trips, and short-term study of up to six months, as well as transits that require passing through UK border control.³ Every traveler needs their own, including babies and children.⁴

You do not need one if you are a British or Irish citizen, already hold a valid UK visa, have permission to live, work, or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status), or are traveling into the UK from within the Common Travel Area. The exemption depends on your legal status, not the purpose of the trip.⁵

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The passport you will actually travel with. For the app, it needs a biometric chip (look for the small camera symbol on the cover). Without a chip, use the GOV.UK website instead.⁶
A photo of your face. The app captures it live; the website asks you to upload one taken against a plain, light background with no one else in frame, meeting UK visa photo standards.⁶
An email address. The decision and reference number arrive there.
A credit or debit card. The fee is £20 per person and is not refunded.⁷

Enter your name and details exactly as they appear in the machine-readable strip at the bottom of your passport’s photo page. Small mismatches between what you type and what the chip stores can trigger a rejection or slow the check.

Applying Through the UK ETA App

The app is available for iOS and Android and is the fastest route. Your phone needs NFC, the same technology used for contactless payments, so it can read the chip inside your passport. Place the top of the phone flat against the middle of your closed passport and hold still until the phone beeps or vibrates.⁶ Reading the chip fills in your personal details automatically and confirms the passport is genuine, which reduces the chance of a typo tripping up your application.

Next, the app takes a live facial scan and matches it to the image stored on the chip. You then answer the screening questions, pay the £20 fee, and submit.¹

Applying on the GOV.UK Website

If your passport has no chip, or you would rather not use the app, apply online at GOV.UK. You type your passport information manually and upload a photo instead of scanning. The fee and processing time are the same.⁷

Applying for Someone Else

You can submit an application for another person, such as a partner, child, or elderly parent. Use the app if they are with you for the facial scan. If they are not, go through the GOV.UK website with a photo of their passport and a photo of their face.⁷ When you apply for several people at once, decisions may come back at different times.

The Screening Questions

The application includes a short set of suitability questions. Two cover criminal history: whether you have been convicted of a crime in the last 12 months, and whether you have ever served a prison sentence of more than 12 months. Others ask about involvement or suspected involvement in war crimes, terrorism, or extremist organizations.⁸

Answer honestly. The Home Office checks your answers against its own records, and a false declaration is a separate ground for refusal on top of whatever the underlying problem was.⁸

How Long It Takes and How Long It Lasts

Most decisions from the app come back automatically within minutes. The Home Office recommends applying at least three working days before travel because a small share of cases need further review.¹ The email comes from UK Visas and Immigration.⁷

An approved ETA is valid for two years or until your linked passport expires, whichever is sooner, and covers unlimited entries of up to six months each.¹ Nothing is printed or stamped. The ETA lives as a digital record tied to your passport number, and airlines and border officers check it electronically. If you renew or replace your passport, the old ETA does not carry across. You will need to apply and pay again.

If Your Application Is Refused

There is no formal right of appeal or administrative review against an ETA refusal. UKVI will give you a reason, but the explanation is usually brief.¹ What you do next depends on why you were refused. If a typo or wrong entry caused it, a fresh application with correct details may go through, though you will pay the £20 fee again. If the refusal relates to criminality or suitability, reapplying is unlikely to help unless your circumstances have genuinely changed; the practical alternative is a Standard Visitor visa application through GOV.UK, which lets you submit supporting documents and a written explanation that the ETA process does not accept.

A refusal is not a ban from the UK. It means you cannot travel under the visa-free ETA route.

Traveling Without a Valid ETA

Airlines, ferry operators, and other carriers must check that every passenger holds a valid ETA before boarding, and travelers without one are turned away at the gate.¹ Carriers face fines of up to £50,000 for letting someone travel without one, so the check happens before you fly rather than on arrival. Apply well before you leave for the airport.

1
Home Office. Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Factsheet – April 2026
2
GOV.UK. Check if You Can Get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
3
GOV.UK. Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to Visit the UK – What You Can and Cannot Do
4
GOV.UK. Get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to Visit the UK – Overview
5
GOV.UK. Get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to Visit the UK – When You Do Not Need an ETA
6
GOV.UK. Using the UK ETA App
7
GOV.UK. Apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
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GOV.UK. Electronic Travel Authorisation Caseworker Guidance (Accessible)