In recent times, the United Kingdom has added an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) requirement for visitors from most countries, including the United States. This means that if you’re traveling to the UK, you need complete an application and pay a fee prior to travel.
I’m currently visiting the UK for the first time since this requirement was added, so I’d like to share my experience applying and getting approved for an ETA. While it’s ever so slightly annoying to have to do this, it’s not a big deal, and it went about as smoothly as it could.
In this post:
Basics of the £16 UK ETA visa waiver requirement
The UK doesn’t require travelers from many countries to get a traditional visa prior to travel. However, visitors from visa waiver countries (like the United States, Australia, European Union countries, etc.) do need to get an ETA prior to travel.
What’s the difference between a visa and an ETA? Honestly, not much. An ETA is generally much easier and faster to get approved for, and the intent is that it allows travelers to be pre-screened before even boarding their flight to the UK.
To cover the very basics:
- The UK ETA has a £16 application fee, which is charged when you apply
- The UK ETA is intended for those who are visiting for tourism or to see friends and family, and not for business, studying, etc.
- This is required if you’re entering the UK, though isn’t required if you’re merely in transit in the UK, and stay airside at an international airport
- The UK ETA is valid for two years from when it’s issued (or until your passport expires, whichever comes first), and it’s valid for multiple entries
- This is entirely electronic, so it’s linked to your passport; there’s nothing you need to bring with you, but instead, the system will know whether you’ve been approved or not
- Technically it can take three business days (or even longer) for your UK ETA to be approved, but in a vast majority of cases, approval is much faster than that, typically within minutes
- When you arrive in the UK, you can clear the e-gates as usual
My UK ETA application & approval experience
I’m happy to report that applying for a UK ETA is super straightforward, at least based on my experience. The recommended way to apply is through the UK ETA app, which is available in the app store. Alternatively, you can apply through this website, which is recommended if you’re applying for someone else.
But if you’re applying for yourself, the app is the recommended method, as it simplifies the process, so that’s what I did. The entire application took me around five minutes, and that included taking screenshots, and it included me being flustered for around two minutes with the selfie requirement.
During the application, you’ll need to confirm your identity, answer some questions, and pay a fee. Therefore you’ll need the passport that you intend to travel to the UK with, access to a credit card (Apple Pay or Google Pay is fine), and access to your email.
You’ll first be asked for your email address and phone number, and you’ll then get a verification code sent to you.
Next, you have to take a picture of your passport, with the entire picture page visible.
Then you have to access the chip on your passport. This involves opening the inside back page of your passport, and essentially rubbing your phone on the page. You just want the top half of your phone to be on that page, and keep moving it around, until you get a message that this has been successful.
Then you’ll have to take a selfie. You need a solid background and no shadows, which proved to be more challenging than I thought. I found the app to be super picky in terms of the type of picture it would accept, and any sort of shadow caused a rejection.
At least the app has a feature that tells you if the picture looks okay or not, so you can keep trying until it’s successful. It’s better than some other ETA applications, where you choose the picture you submit, and then end up being rejected.
For the next part of the application, you just have to enter your address information.
Then you have to answer some basic questions, about whether you have a job, whether you have a criminal record, and whether you’ve been involved in things like war crimes, genocides, terrorism, supporting extremist groups, etc. (I’m curious how many people answer “yes” to any of those).
Then you have to declare that the information you’ve provided is accurate.
Lastly, you get to the payment portion of the application. You’re asked which country you’re applying from, because that determines in what currency you’ll be charged.
Since I was applying from the United States, I was charged in USD, at the cost of $22.40.
I could pay with Apple Pay, so I didn’t even have to take out a card.
I then received confirmation that my application had been submitted, and received a reference number.
While the confirmation stated that it could take up to three working days to get approval, in reality, I received my approval email five minutes later.
There was nothing else I had to do beyond this. Since the UK ETA is connected to your passport, I was never asked for this at check-in, I could use the e-gates in the UK, etc.
Bottom line
I had my first experience with the UK’s new ETA requirement for Americans (among others). While no one likes having to complete an extra application and paying an extra £16, it was otherwise as straightforward as it could have possibly been.
The application was quick and painless, and I was approved within minutes. Now I’m cleared for two years of UK travel.
If you’ve applied for the UK ETA, what was your experience like?
If I'm vacationing in (the Republic of) Ireland, and taking a day trip (not even an overnight stay) via ground transportation to Northern Ireland, do I need this? Have searched far and wide for a definitive answer and nothing :(
There are no official checks across the border due to the Common Travel Area agreement. It's sensible to take your passport with you just in case, but you certainly won't be asked to produce a UK ETA. :)
American Airlines routes you to Sherpa without ever mentioning the $9 service charge.
I was only connecting in LHR earlier this month but still applied for the ETA, figured I didn’t want to be stuck at the airport if there was IROPS. It was painless enough. At least they made it easy even if it is at face value an unnecessary hassle.
The UK ETA is only marginally better than Australia, in that Australia mandates that you do the application via an app. So much for personal choice.
Anyway, I got my UK ETA pretty easily via web browser, as I don't use a smartphone. You just have to be prepared for a supermarket style "Do you know you can do this on your phone?" repeated prompting.
So far Timatic still informs airline agents that "carriers will not be penalized for transporting passengers who do not hold an ETA." Therefore, at least at the airlines I work with, we allow those passengers without an ETA to fly to the UK (for now). Not sure what happens to them on arrival, slap on the wrist?
My approval experience was also smooth and it took 3 min .
It’s very odd to me that actually it seems no one checks it .
I was flying an award EU - LHR (overnight ) - BOS. I applied with my EU passport , but checked in through AA app with my US passport . I understand that for layovers it’s not needed , but I actually entered UK to go to a hotel and in the morning went back to LHR
“ It’s very odd to me that actually it seems no one checks it .”
Did you go through the electronic passport gates?
They checked it.
Mine took about two minutes to be approved.
"I’m curious how many people answer “yes” to any of those"
The point is more that if you answer no and it's wrong, you would be prosecuted for lying to the border force.
A guy with my same name (different middle but that wasn't reported in the media) was convicted of a rather unique felony in NY and I have had a couple of interesting convos with border agents in Canada who did quick Googling when I have been pulled aside trying to enter the country. They were understanding and actually laughed when I pointed out the age difference and the coincidence. The only times Canadian border agents...
A guy with my same name (different middle but that wasn't reported in the media) was convicted of a rather unique felony in NY and I have had a couple of interesting convos with border agents in Canada who did quick Googling when I have been pulled aside trying to enter the country. They were understanding and actually laughed when I pointed out the age difference and the coincidence. The only times Canadian border agents have been anywhere close to friendly to me.
(And no, it wasn't George Santos.)
I do not believe your point stating an ETA is not for business travel is correct. If you look on the gov.uk site it states: What you can do with an ETA
You can: come to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, on a business trip or for short-term study
By the way - isn't Ben mostly travelling for business?
I treat my passport like a newborn baby yet somehow my chip got damaged in the last couple of years; e-gates at LHR always direct me to a Border Force agent. Curious how this process will play out. Love the Apple Pay integration.
You don't need it if you apply online
No 'retired' option for employment ? If responding negative, what will that trigger/delay ?
The payment portion comes after the declaration so maybe it can be considered separate from the other content and not subject to the 'declaration' ? Therefore using the UK solely for payment purposes doesn't constitute deception ? Otherwise, a great suggestion to minimize the inevitable nickel & diming of these obstructional policies/procedures.
I received the ETA in February when it was £10. They sure didn't waste any time raising the price.
They needed the additional revenue when it was decided that transit passengers wouldn't have to get the ETA. UK is facing large budget issues, so they are looking for many ways to raise revenue.
Criminal convictions? How did Trump get one given that he is currently in Scotland?
You're right!
How did he get approved?
@Lucky: As for accessing the chip on your passport, phone covers/protectors can block it. Once I removed the cover, the phone immediately recorded it.
My experience as well. Of course then it ended up costing me more money to buy a new case because it was gross!
I had no luck with my pixel 6a, even after taking off the cover. The app was absolutely no help about what to do then. Had to start from scratch on the website and wade through numerous messages telling me to go use the app.
The Border Force has awful IT, and the e gates sometimes don't work - I would print out the authorizations you received.
@Ben: Did you apply with your US or your German passport? Does that make a difference in how smooth the process may be? Also, what happens if you do not have a chip on the passport. Some of us do not have biometric passports.
We flew to the UK in 1-25. It was £10 then and I thought made arrival very easy.
Great post!
Does everyone need their own app on their own phone or could you do it for Ford on your app?
Tip: Take the MagSafe cover off your iPhone before scanning the chip.
I wish the app had a way to look up your previous application. In 1.5 years I’m not going to remember when I applied and therefore when I need to reapply
Use Notes App on your phone.
Or log onto your credit card account or keep the confirmation email.
Lol why thank you!! I'm aware there are many possible ways I can keep track of when it expires... my statement was simply wishing for what would be the easiest: Open the app, type in the passport number and it says 'your authorization expires on xxx'.
I had flights connecting through LHR this April, and at check-in, the BA staff asked for my ETA which was weird.
Connecting passengers are exempt from the ETA requirement but he didn't seem to be aware of it. It was so fortunate that I had applied for ETA just in case I miss my connecting flight and spend a night at LHR.
So the lesson is, have ETA ready even if it's just a transit. It costs £16 but it's the cost to be hassle-free.
@S_LEE, great advice!
The rubbing of your phone on your passport, I don't like. What if it is an elderly person with no smartphone? Or what if the rubbing doesn't work?
Yeah yeah yeah. Let’s get on with this swanky new American Airlines product.
That Delta fanatic on here no doubt would say yes.
I filled this in using my laptop, no app. It was very smooth indeed. For the photo, I just chose some old photo I had on my laptop. Their system did not like my photo but there was a box to tick with something like "use this photo anyway", which is what I did, and I got my ETA within minutes. Also, no chip rubbing required.
Does a traffic ticket count as a criminal conviction for this purpose?
At least in the US, most traffic tickets are civil infractions, not criminal. More serious offenses like DUI and vehicular manslaughter are criminal. So you don’t need to disclose it.
" Royalty " has its privileges ! .. Besides most if not all politicians are above the law ..,.
...lol
** Apologies **
The above reply was meant for MS644, quite a bit earlier ....
A bargain to be unlikely to suffer immigration lines at UK Border for the next 2 years of its validity versus those countries where immigration is a nightmare, even for connecting passengers. USA?
Get used to it, the same applies in Singapore (free but fresh application within 72 hours of arrival) and latest is Thailand.
I think you may be conflating two separate things. The Singapore requirement is an arrival card, which used to be a paper form but can now be done electronically.
In my home jurisdiction (New Zealand), travellers who are visa exempt require an ETA (except Australian passport holders), and all arrivals (including New Zealand passport holders) have to submit an NZ Travel Declaration (which can be done electronically, or via the paper form arrival card).
You...
I think you may be conflating two separate things. The Singapore requirement is an arrival card, which used to be a paper form but can now be done electronically.
In my home jurisdiction (New Zealand), travellers who are visa exempt require an ETA (except Australian passport holders), and all arrivals (including New Zealand passport holders) have to submit an NZ Travel Declaration (which can be done electronically, or via the paper form arrival card).
You are right though, the ETA thing is becoming more common worldwide. If I recall correctly, it started with the USA’s ESTA requirement for Visa-waiver countries back in 2009.
There was a very long immigration line when we arrived at LHR. It moved along, but took longer than some other countries.
What are warm crimes?
I think he meant "war crimes".
Crimes you commit in warm climates. They have a separate section because its widely known that warm climates make people act crazier (ex: Florida), so the British Government is a little more lenient towards such offenders.
Crimes while the 'corpse' is still warm ..... before rigor mortis sets in !
... lol
"Since I was applying from the United States, I was charged in USD, at the cost of $22.40."
Extortion on top of extortion.
Not only we have to pay for this "visa". We have to pay it with DCC!!!!
It's America's fault, starting this travel authorization nonsense after 9/11. And it does nothing but close people off from each other in the world, even just a little bit
Actually, Australia was the first, making ETAs mandatory a full 7 years before the US introduced ESTA.
Can you pay in £ if you say you’re applying from the U.K.?
Yes, I applied from the US but marked that I was applying from the UK, charged in £ and used a CC with no foreign transaction fees. Saved a few cents for each of us. Did this two months ago and no issues with the egates.
Yes, but I wonder if the UK authorities might not like that. For example, how did you get into the UK if you don't have authorization? Do you want to risk lying on a the form to save a tiny amount of money?
@767-223
Trick question. If you're already in UK you don't need an eta, you just need to avoid HO like ICE.
It's a difference of roughly USD 1 as opposed to the current pound-to-dollar exchange rate (even though the difference may be merely due to the current exchange rate at the moment of application, not just an attempt for an additional money grab).