UK ETA 2026: who needs it, fee, processing time and traps

The UK ETA is not a visa. It is an electronic travel authorisation, costing GBP 16, that 83 nationalities must obtain before boarding for the United Kingdom. You apply online, it is usually granted within three business days, and it stays valid for two years, for stays of up to six months.

But the first question is not how to get one. It is whether you need one at all. For a large share of this site's readers the answer is no, and the sites that sell ETAs are in no hurry to say so.

The United Kingdom sorts travellers into three groups, and only one of them needs an ETA.

• The 83 ETA nationalities.* Mostly western and central Europe, North America, part of Latin America, the Gulf states and part of East Asia. From the Spanish-speaking world: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay. From Africa, only two: Mauritius and Seychelles.

• The 112 visitor-visa nationalities.* Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Niger, Chad, Gabon, Congo, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt need a Standard Visitor visa, not an ETA. In Latin America, so do Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti.

For those 112 nationalities, applying for an ETA achieves nothing and the fee is not refunded. A Standard Visitor visa is required, filed through a visa application centre with biometrics.

• The two exemptions.* Ireland, under the Common Travel Area, and Ukraine, under the scheme opened after 2022, need neither an ETA nor a visitor visa for a short tourist stay.

If you are unsure which group applies to you, your nationality's page on this site says so in one line, and the official British page is the authority.

The official fee is GBP 16, paid to the British government when you apply. It is the only mandatory amount: there is no file fee, no centre fee and no appointment to pay for, since everything happens online.

The observed processing time is three business days. That is not a commitment: an application can take longer, particularly where an immigration history or a conviction is declared. The same rule of thumb applies as for any entry document: do not book non-refundable travel before the authorisation is granted.

Once granted, the ETA is valid for two years and allows stays of up to six months per entry. It is linked electronically to the passport used to apply: renew that passport before the two years are up and you need a new one.

Do not confuse these three durations. Two years is how long the authorisation lasts. Six months is the longest single stay. Three business days is the processing time. Mixing up validity and permitted stay is the most common mistake on this kind of authorisation.

The application is online only, on the official British portal or in the dedicated app. There is no counter, no paper file and no appointment.

You need the passport you will travel on, a face photo taken to the form's instructions, an email address and a means of payment. The form asks about criminal and immigration history: answer honestly, since an inaccurate declaration weighs far more heavily than a declared record.

The authorisation arrives by email. It is linked to the passport, so in principle nothing needs printing, but keeping a copy of the email costs nothing and saves a conversation at boarding.

• Intermediary websites.* Searching for "UK ETA" surfaces sites that imitate the official layout and resell the same procedure at three or four times the government fee. They are neither illegal nor useful: they fill in the form for you. The only official entry point is the British government domain, and there is no other.

• An ETA is not a right of entry.* It authorises boarding. The admission decision belongs to the border officer, who may ask for a return ticket, an address or proof of funds. Holding an ETA does not remove the need to have those ready.

• The purpose of the trip matters.* The ETA covers tourism, family visits, certain short business trips and transit. It covers neither paid work in the UK, nor long studies, nor settlement. Each of those needs a different document.

• Passport validity.* The passport must be valid for the whole stay, and it is the passport that carries the authorisation. A renewed passport breaks the link with the previous ETA.

That is not bad news, just a different procedure. The Standard Visitor visa is also filed online, then completed with an appointment at an application centre for biometrics. Expect a fuller file, longer processing and a cost far beyond the ETA fee.

Your nationality's page for the United Kingdom, on this site, gives the regime that applies to you, the permitted length of stay and the official links. It is the safest starting point, and it saves paying for an authorisation that does not concern you.

The amounts, processing times and nationality lists in this guide come from the official British ETA page, read on 22 July 2026: https://www.gov.uk/electronic-travel-authorisation-eta. The application form is at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta. This information changes, and the official source always prevails over this page.