Eligibility
UK ETA requirements and exemptions
Since 2 April 2025, nationals of EU countries have needed an ETA to travel to the United Kingdom – including children and babies, each with their own. Whether you are granted an ETA is decided solely by the Home Office. We help you prepare complete information.
Quick check: your passport
With a passport from this country, the UK ETA is usually the right route for visits, business trips and transit where you pass through UK border control (landside). See the exemptions below.
Start applicationWhat you need
- A valid passport (biometric passport with chip) to which the ETA will be linked
- Name, date and place of birth and nationality – exactly as in the passport
- Contact details: email address and postal address
- Passport data page (photo or scan) and a recent photo of your face
- Purpose of travel and details of your job or occupation, where asked
- Truthful answers about criminal convictions and immigration history
- A means of payment for the official fee (e.g. Apple Pay or Google Pay when applying yourself)
Who does not need an ETA
- British and Irish citizens (including dual nationals – they cannot get an ETA)
- People with a visa or permission to live in the United Kingdom
- Travellers who only change planes airside and do not leave the airport
- Certain exceptions, e.g. school groups from Germany or France under special conditions
The definitive list is on gov.uk/eta/when-not-need-eta.
What the UK ETA is not for
- Stays over 6 months, work or study in the United Kingdom – a visa may be needed for this
- Travel with a British or Irish passport – an ETA cannot be applied for
- A promise that you will be allowed in at the border
- Visas for the United Kingdom – we do not offer these
- Legal or immigration advice
Common mistakes: spelling that differs from the passport, an expired passport, an ETA linked to an old passport (a new passport needs a new ETA), incomplete answers about convictions, missing details for children.