UK ETA Requirement From February 2026 For Visitors

Published on Nov 25, 2025, 8:08 am CST

9 min read

Key points

From February 25 2026 visa free visitors from 85 countries must hold an approved UK ETA before boarding transport
The ETA is a £16 digital travel permit that allows multiple short visits of up to six months over two years or until passport expiry
British and Irish citizens and people with existing UK immigration permission are exempt but all other eligible adults and children need their own ETA
Most ETA decisions are made in minutes but the Home Office advises applying at least three working days before departure
Airside transit at London Heathrow and Manchester without passing passport control currently does not need an ETA but this exemption may change
From 2026 carriers must confirm every traveler holds either an ETA or an eVisa before allowing them to travel to the UK

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: The biggest impacts will fall on leisure and business visitors from visa exempt countries such as the United States Canada Australia the EU and Gulf states
Best Times To Travel: Avoid last minute departures without time to secure an ETA and build at least several days of lead time into bookings from early 2026
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Travelers connecting through the UK who must pass passport control should plan as if an ETA is mandatory and treat it like a core travel document
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check whether your nationality will need an ETA in 2026 renew passports early where needed and download the UK ETA app to apply at least three working days before trips
Health And Safety Factors: Because ETAs screen passengers in advance travelers with prior refusals or criminal history should seek advice and consider applying even earlier than the minimum guidance

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The UK ETA requirement 2026 will be fully enforced from February 25, 2026, closing the grace period that has allowed many visa exempt visitors to board flights, trains, and ferries without pre approved digital permission. From that date, travelers from 85 nationalities, including the United States, Canada, Australia, most of Europe, and several Gulf countries, who do not currently need a visa, must hold either an Electronic Travel Authorisation or an eVisa before they travel. Anyone who needs an ETA and arrives at the airport without one will be denied boarding, so trips to the United Kingdom will need more advance paperwork and planning.

In plain terms, the UK ETA requirement 2026 means that almost all short stay visitors who used to arrive visa free will move to a low cost digital travel permit that must be approved before they can travel to the United Kingdom.

Read our guide on entry requirements for The United Kingdom.

Who Needs A UK ETA From February 2026

The Home Office has now confirmed that from February 25, 2026, visitors from 85 nationalities who do not need a visa for short stays will not be able to legally travel to the United Kingdom without an approved ETA. This group includes most of Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and a range of other visa exempt countries.

British and Irish citizens, including dual nationals, are exempt from the ETA requirement. So are people who already have permission to live, work, or study in the United Kingdom, and certain other categories that are exempt from immigration control. The government is strongly advising dual British citizens to renew or carry valid British passports or certificates of entitlement, because from February 25, 2026, they may be denied boarding if they cannot prove their British status at check in.

Every traveler who does need an ETA will require their own approval, including babies and children. Families and groups cannot travel on a single shared authorisation, so multi generational trips and school tours will need each passport holder cleared individually.

Transit rules are also tightening. Eligible visitors who take connecting flights and go through UK passport control will need an ETA from the enforcement date. Travelers who remain airside and do not pass through UK border controls during transit at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) or Manchester Airport (MAN) currently do not need an ETA, but the Home Office flags this airside exemption as temporary and subject to review. Anyone planning complex itineraries that use the United Kingdom as a hub should keep that caveat in mind.

What The ETA Allows And How Long It Lasts

An Electronic Travel Authorisation is a digital permission to travel, not a visa, not a tax, and not a guarantee of entry at the border. It is designed for short stays as a visitor or for specific limited activities, generally up to six months at a time, for tourism, family visits, some types of business, research, or medical care.

Once approved, an ETA usually allows multiple trips over a two year period, or until the traveler's passport expires, whichever comes sooner. This means frequent visitors can re use the same ETA for several journeys, provided they keep the same passport and stay within the permitted visit lengths and activities.

Because an ETA is tied directly to the passport used in the application, travelers who renew their passport mid validity will need to apply for a new ETA before their next trip. Airlines, rail operators, and ferry companies will read the ETA status from the passport details supplied, so any mismatch between document and approval can result in a refused boarding.

How To Apply And When To Do It

The government's preferred route is a dedicated UK ETA app, available through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Travelers who do not use a smartphone can instead apply through the official UK government website. The fee is currently £16.00 (GBP) per application, and outside agents that charge more are effectively reselling a service that applicants can access directly at the base price.

Applicants must submit passport details, contact information, a compliant digital photograph, and answers to a short set of suitability and criminality questions. The Home Office says that most straightforward applications receive an automatic decision in minutes, but it advises travelers to apply at least three working days before travel to account for the small percentage of cases that require manual review.

Behind the scenes, ETA applications are screened against immigration and security databases. Cases that show potential identity issues, previous overstays, criminal convictions, or security flags are passed to human decision makers, and where concerns are confirmed, an ETA may be refused. Travelers whose ETA is refused cannot appeal the decision, but they can still apply for a full visa if they wish to seek permission to visit the United Kingdom.

Because reviews can take longer for people with complex histories, anyone with past visa refusals, criminal records, or frequent travel to high risk regions should treat the three day guideline as an absolute minimum and consider applying well in advance of booking non refundable flights or hotels.

What Changes For Carriers And Border Checks

The full enforcement date marks a shift in responsibility to carriers as well as travelers. From February 25, 2026, airlines, Eurostar and Eurotunnel operators, and ferry companies will be expected to confirm that every non visa national passenger whose route requires an ETA or eVisa holds valid digital permission before they travel.

In practice, this means ETA checks will be baked into online check in and airport departure processes, similar to how airlines already verify visas and passport validity for many routes. Passengers who arrive at the airport without an ETA where one is required will likely be turned away at the check in desk or boarding gate, long before reaching UK border control.

At the border, travelers with an ETA will still go through normal passport checks or eGates, and border officers retain the power to refuse entry if conditions are not met or new information emerges. The ETA simply authorises travel and pre screens passengers to reduce risk, but it does not guarantee that a visitor will be admitted.

The policy is part of a wider shift toward a fully digital immigration system and a more contactless border. Over time, the data collected through ETAs, including basic biographic and biometric details, is intended to give the United Kingdom a more complete picture of who is arriving, when, and for what purposes, which is central to the government's security and migration management arguments for the scheme.

Travel Planning Tips For 2025 And 2026

For many travelers, the practical impact will be felt long before February 25, 2026. The ETA scheme has been rolling out in stages since late 2023, and by early 2025 it already covers most non visa nationalities apart from a few transitional cases. Anyone planning a 2025 or early 2026 trip should check the current rules for their nationality, not assume that enforcement only starts with the new deadline.

The safest approach is to treat the ETA like an essential travel document, on the same level as a passport or airline ticket. That means applying well before you pay for non refundable flights and accommodation, verifying that your passport will remain valid for both the ETA and the trip dates, and storing your confirmation in more than one place, both digitally and on paper.

Families should plan for the time and cost of multiple applications. Parents and guardians can apply on behalf of children, but each child still needs their own ETA tied to their own passport. Group organizers should build ETA checks into their packing lists and pre departure briefings, just as they do for consent forms and insurance documents.

For itineraries that involve connections in the United Kingdom, travelers need to look closely at whether they will pass through UK passport control. A same plane transit that stays airside at London Heathrow or Manchester may stay outside the ETA requirement for now, but a connection that requires entering and re clearing security will be treated like a full entry and will need an ETA once the rules are enforced.

Corporate travel managers and advisors should also update their templates, checklists, and client communications. From mid 2025 onward, FAQs, pre trip briefs, and sales materials for United Kingdom bound trips should assume an ETA requirement for most visa exempt clients and clearly flag the February 25, 2026 enforcement date as a hard cutoff. Internal booking tools should highlight the need for an ETA in the same way they already surface ESTA or eTA prompts for the United States and Canada.

For deeper background on the rise of digital border permits, travelers can read our comparison of how schemes like ETIAS, ESTA, and the UK ETA work and our guide to United Kingdom entry requirements for 2026. Readers interested in the earlier phased rollout can also review our news coverage of the initial UK ETA launch for Gulf travelers.

Background: How The UK ETA Rolled Out

The United Kingdom launched its ETA system in October 2023, starting with Qatari nationals whose applications opened on October 25, 2023, for travel from November 15, 2023. In February 2024 the scheme expanded to nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates for travel from February 22, 2024.

On November 27, 2024, applications opened to most remaining non visa nationals, excluding Europeans, for trips from January 8, 2025, and on March 5, 2025, the Home Office opened ETA applications to European nationals for travel from April 2, 2025. Jordanian nationals, who initially fell under the ETA umbrella, were reclassified as visa nationals in September 2024 and removed from the ETA list.

According to the Home Office, more than 13.3 million ETA applications have already been processed since the launch, and officials credit the system with enabling faster, smoother travel on routes where the program is active. The February 25, 2026 deadline does not introduce a new scheme so much as it ends a transition period when carriers were allowed to uplift travelers who had applied for an ETA but did not yet show as fully approved.

For visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia, and other high volume markets, the key change is that this grace period disappears. After February 25, 2026, no permission means no travel. For trip planning, that makes the ETA an unavoidable part of any short stay visit to the United Kingdom, and one that travelers will need to budget time and attention for just as they already do with similar digital permits in other regions.