Guide to using an ETA to travel to the UK and how to apply for one

27 February 2024
Having piloted the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) regime with Qatari nationals coming to the United Kingdom, the new digital travel authorisation scheme opens this month for those visiting the UK from other Gulf states and Jordan.

Other nations are set to join over the next few months as part of a roll out for other visitors to the UK who do not currently need a visa, such as citizens of the United States, Singapore, Australia or EU nations.

As part of a programme of digitalisation of UK borders and immigration, every traveller from these nations, regardless of age (yes, children and babies included) will soon be required to obtain their own ETA before making their trip to the UK. The aim is to strengthen border security and improve the process of arriving to the UK.

What is an Electronic Travel Authorisation?

The ETA is a prior digital travel permission operating much like the ESTA for the US or the EU’s new ETIAS. The ETA screens arrivals when they apply for the digital pre-travel vetting scheme to come to the UK as a visitor or as a Creative Worker.

It costs £10, permits multiple journeys and is valid for two years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner.​​

It should be clarified that the ETA will only provide an individual permission to travel to the UK, and it is not equivalent to a visa. While a visa may confer leave to enter, even a visa cannot guarantee entry.  That decision rests with the immigration officer at the airport and they can cancel a visa or refuse permission if they think appropriate (e.g. because the holder’s circumstances/purpose have changed). An immigration officer would still need to authorise your admission and may ask questions about the purpose of your visit, although some nationalities may be able to use e-Passport Gates instead.

An ETA only applies to non-visa nationals.  Visa nationals will always require a valid visa if they wish to enter the UK.

Which nationals will need an ETA to visit the UK?

Last autumn the first ETA applications opened to Qatari nationals travelling to the UK on or after 15 November 2023. The system has now been extended to nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE for travel to the UK on or after 22 February 2024, phasing out the Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) for most of these nations. The ETA provides a more cost-efficient alternative, costing only £10 for multiple entries across two years as opposed to the EVW’s current application cost of £30 for a single entry of up to six months.

Over the course of 2024, the ETA will be rolled out worldwide for visitors to the UK who do not currently need a visa for short stays, known as non-visa nationals. We do not currently have any updates on when other countries will be incorporated into the scheme, but we expect that Home Office will open the scheme to countries in batches to ensure a smooth transition.

You can find current lists of visa nationals and non-visa nationals here. These lists change periodically, so check the UK government’s Check if you need a visa site if in doubt.

Who does not need an ETA to travel to the UK?

The following will not require an ETA:

• British and Irish Citizens;
• A British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC) travelling on their BOTC passport;
• Individuals who already have entry clearance, permission to enter, or permission to stay;
• Settled persons;
• Individuals exempt from immigration control; and
• Third country non-visa nationals who lawfully reside in Ireland and are travelling to the UK to visit from somewhere else in the Common Travel Area (note that if they are Irish residents but are travelling to the UK from outside the Common Travel Area, an ETA will still be required).

Which visitors should apply for an ETA to enter the UK?

The ETA is presented as a simple and fast digital vetting scheme for visitors travelling to the UK that fall within the scope. This will include those who visit the UK for tourism, business (more on permitted business activities here) and short-term study. Additionally, individuals from participating nations coming to the UK for up to three months on the Creative Worker visa concession should also apply for the ETA. It should also be noted that if travellers are transiting through the UK, they will still need to obtain a valid ETA, even if they do not go through UK border control.

Visitors coming to the UK to get married or enter into a civil partnership still need to apply for a marriage/civil partnership visitor visa.

How to apply to the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation

Applicants are encouraged to apply for the ETA through the UK ETA app, but for those who are unable to for any reason (e.g., technical issues), they can also fill out an online form. Both can be found here.

There are simple questions to fill in such as name, date of birth, nationality, previous immigration history and criminal convictions.

Those applying will need to provide their biometric information, have a valid passport (biometric chipped or not) and answer a short set of questions to assess their suitability for travel to the UK.

The ETA costs £10 to apply and is non-refundable. The Home Office has prided itself on the ETA being a cost-competitive travel scheme compared to other international schemes such as the USA’s ESTA, which functions similarly to the ETA, but with an application fee of $21 (approximately £17). However, the Home Office also prefaces that as with all visa fees, the ETA application fee is subject to review. Whilst relatively cheap now, it is possible that we may see price changes down the line, much like on 5 October 2023, where we saw visa fee increases of approximately 15% to 20% across the board.

The Home Office have stated that applicants should receive a decision within three working days, but it may occasionally take longer, presumably in more complex circumstances.

The current ETA rules also list cases where applicants must be refused an ETA, such as if they have had previously breached immigration laws grounds (e.g. overstaying, using deception in relation to an immigration application), false representations, and criminality grounds to name a few.  See below for information what you need to do in these cases.

Once granted, the ETA will be valid for two years from the date of grant or until the holder’s passport used in the application expires, whichever is sooner. While the rules state that a person holding a valid ETA can make multiple journeys of up to six months as a visitor, it should be noted that travellers will still likely be subject to the genuine visitor requirement as set out in Appendix V. This means that while ETA holders can be granted permission to stay for up to six months at a time within the two-year period, they should not be living in the UK for extended periods through frequent and successive visits as the Home Office may not be convinced such individuals are genuine visitors. Border force may consider the typical or expected duration of proposed activities and the cumulative amount of time spent in the UK before granting entry.

Is it compulsory to apply for an ETA to travel to the UK from participating countries?

It should also be noted that in the guidance on ETAs, prospective applicants are informed that they must apply for an ETA before they travel to the UK but, rather confusingly, that they can still travel to the UK while they await a decision. It is unclear whether this is simply a temporary provision as the Home Office navigate the first rollouts of ETA applications and are cautiously accounting for possible backlogs. This may be phased out as the ETA becomes more commonplace.

In a letter deposited in Parliament dated 18 October 2023, shortly before the ETA was first rolled out, it was confirmed that the “ETA scheme…will not be enforced until the ETA scheme has been fully rolled out to all non-visa nationals by the end of 2024”. It appears that the Home Office may exercise some discretion if a person needs an ETA and travels to the UK without one, but it should be noted that the rules do allow them to refuse entry in such situations.

What is likely to happens if an ETA is refused?

Finally, in the event that an individual is refused, they will be required to apply for a visa such as a Visitor visa or a Creative Worker visa if they seek to come to the UK. As there is no language currently to reflect a cool-down period of sorts for ETA applications, it is being interpreted that if someone has been refused an ETA once, they will never be able to apply for the ETA again. For security purposes, there may be little leeway on repeat ETA applications following refusals (no matter how much time has transpired between the applications), much like how the US equivalent of the ESTA currently functions.

For assistance with visit visas or any immigration advice, please feel free to contact our friendly team of immigration experts. You can call us on +44(0) 207 033 9527 or email us to discuss any aspects of UK immigration at enquiries@vanessaganguin.com