UK ETA: Official Application, Passport and Transit Checks

Who and where this reference covers

Citizenship

The route covers nationals in Appendix ETA National List ETANL 1.1, subject to the official ETA rules and exemptions. The list has four travel-date cohorts: 15 November 2023, 22 February 2024, 8 January 2025 and 2 April 2025. Taiwan passports must include the specified identification-card number. This guide covers adult ordinary-passport tourism, not an individual eligibility decision.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the present combined nationality scope; the four cohort dates are explicitly stated, but no single date is given for the combined current scope. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Application residence

Appendix ETA 1.3–1.4 exempts people lawfully resident in the Republic of Ireland who travel to the UK from elsewhere in the Common Travel Area. ETA 1.6 requires those aged 16 or over relying on this exception to provide residence evidence if required. This is not a universal residence exemption; the public exemption page gives the named journeys and evidence list.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete current appendix was read. It gives the lawful-residence definition and age-16 evidence threshold but does not date these current clauses. Nationality rollout dates, publication/update metadata and access dates are not substituted. Source checked

Mission jurisdiction

This task explains a travel authorisation or border system, not a local mission corridor.Outside this reference’s scope

Responsible authority

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), Home Office; the official app guidance is issued by UKVI.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the named application authority. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

The process

Scope: Public application and travel-check workflow for adult ordinary-passport tourists using the UK ETA route. The app guidance’s 9 April 2026 update also includes travel to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man; this guide describes travel to the UK. It does not decide individual eligibility or cover work, marriage, child-group exceptions or personal suitability decisions.

Start by checking the required permission, rather than opening an application first. GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/eta) distinguishes an ETA from a visa according to nationality and purpose. Appendix ETA National List (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-eta-national-list) gives the nationality cohorts and the Taiwan passport condition; exceptions still matter. An ETA does not guarantee admission. The activities page directs readers with a criminal record or a previous UK entry refusal to consider the Standard Visitor visa information; this guide does not assess personal suitability.

The exemption page (https://www.gov.uk/eta/when-not-need-eta) lists, among others, British and Irish citizens, existing UK visas or residence permissions, British overseas territories citizen and British National (Overseas) passports, and airside transit without border control. Dual citizens with British or Irish citizenship cannot get an ETA; the page explains the documents they can use. Landside transit passes through border control and is within the ETA travel workflow. Check with the airline if that boundary is unclear.

The Ireland exception is defined in Appendix ETA 1.3–1.4 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-electronic-travel-authorisation): lawful residence in Ireland and travel from elsewhere in the Common Travel Area both matter. The public exemption page names journeys from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man. Visa-required travellers do not become visa-exempt through Irish residence. Travellers aged 16 or over using the exception bring an original, valid document from the Irish-government list on that page.

Before using the app or online service, have the travel passport, email address and payment method ready. The official starting page is https://www.gov.uk/eta/apply. The app requires the original passport: photograph its information page, scan the chip where possible and check the extracted details. If scanning fails, the app obtains passport details from that information-page image; it does not use the passport portrait instead of a new face photo. Adult applicants also complete the face scan and face photo. The public app guide is https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-the-uk-eta-app; the app is available only in English.

The online route requires passport and face photos; it is also the route to use when applying for someone who is not present. Follow the face-photo guide linked from the ETA application (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-take-a-photo-for-a-visa-application-or-permission). It specifies clear, unaltered JPG/JPEG images and a 6MB maximum. Appendix ETA 1.1(e) also refers to passport-photo quality rules (https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports); that passport page has a 10MB maximum. These are different instructions, so use the ETA-specific upload limit and the shared quality requirements. A passport photo code is not listed as an ETA application item. The new face photo must not be the portrait already in the passport or identity card.

The app asks about address, job, other nationalities and criminal convictions. We describe the official sequence and do not prepare answers, inspect documents or assess whether an application will succeed.

The government ETA fee is £20 under the 8 April 2026 tariff (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-8-april-2026). The app displays a local-currency price and allows a currency change; no exchange-rate table or formula is published in those app instructions. Do not treat £20 as a promised local-currency settlement amount. The fee is non-refundable after applying, and a different website cannot secure a faster decision. The announced 8 October 2026 tariff (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-8-october-2026) also lists £20 for ETA, with no change; a live event-day check remains due. If application details need changing, GOV.UK says to apply again.

Wait for the approval email before travel. The official page describes a decision usually within a day, sometimes up to three working days; this is not a guarantee. An ETA is linked to the application passport and lasts two years or until passport expiry, whichever comes first. Use that passport when travelling. Its validity is separate from the permitted duration and conditions of each visit. The application page links the official service for checking whether an ETA exists and when it expires.

For tourism, the activities page (https://www.gov.uk/eta/what-you-can-cannot-do) describes visits of up to six months. An ETA cannot be used to live in the UK through frequent or successive visits. Work and marriage routes have separate rules; follow the authority instructions instead of treating an ETA as general permission.

Independent general information. We do not assess eligibility, fill forms, upload or review documents, or submit applications.

Application and appointment channel

Apply through the UK ETA app or the official online service linked from GOV.UK. The public application guidance describes no visa-centre appointment. If applying for someone who is not present, use the online route.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the current app/online application channel. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Official application or booking link

https://www.gov.uk/eta/applyOfficial evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the official government starting page linking the app and online application. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Official processing information

An emailed decision is usually received within a day, but may take up to three working days. Wait for an approval email before travel. Check spam/junk and follow UKVI help instructions if no decision arrives; this is guidance, not a guaranteed turnaround.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the currently published indicative decision time. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Documents and local requirements

Document requirement 1

Prepare the original passport that will be used for travel, an email address and an accepted payment method. The app does not accept a photocopy or digital passport in place of the original.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the current starting items and original-passport requirement. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 2

In the app, photograph the passport information page and scan the chip where possible. If the chip cannot be scanned, the app extracts passport details from the information-page photo; check those details against the original passport. This fallback does not replace the separate face photo. Adult applicants complete a face scan and a face photo.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the current app identity-capture sequence. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 3

For the online route, provide a photo of the passport and a photo of the applicant face. Follow the government photo guidance linked from the application page.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the online passport/face-photo sequence. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 4

The ETA application page links the visa/permission face-photo guide: clear, unaltered colour JPG/JPEG, at least 600 × 750 pixels, 50KB to 6MB, with the specified background and facial visibility. Appendix ETA 1.1(e) also links passport-photo rules. The guides share core quality rules but have different maximum file sizes; a passport-application photo code is not an ETA requirement. Follow the ETA channel instructions. The face photo must be of the person and must not reuse the portrait in the passport or identity card.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the currently linked ETA-specific face-photo formatting instructions. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 5

The app requests address, job, other nationalities and criminal-conviction information. This guide lists the published process; it does not fill the form or assess answers.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the publicly listed adult application-question categories. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 6

Wait for the emailed ETA approval before travel. The approval is linked to the application passport and lasts two years or until that passport expires, whichever comes first. Use that passport when travelling; authorisation validity does not determine the permitted length of each visit.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the present decision-to-travel, passport-link and validity instructions. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 7

An ETA is permission to travel, not guaranteed admission; the holder still seeks permission to enter on arrival. The public overview and exemption page should be checked before using the application workflow.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the current permission-to-travel/admission distinction. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Document requirement 8

Travellers aged 16 or over using the Ireland-residence exception bring an original, valid Irish-government document from the public exemption list. The page names journeys from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man and says visa-required travellers still need a visa. This evidence list is separate from Appendix ETA’s lawful-residence definition.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete exemption page was read. It does not give an effective date for its current named journeys or residence-evidence list; no page metadata or access date is substituted. Source checked

Translations

The complete app instructions and ETA application validity checklist were read. They do not specify a certified-translation stage for this adult ordinary-passport workflow. The app is English-only. This source-limited absence is not a universal translation waiver or permission to ignore additional authority requests.Not published by the authorityOfficial evidence

Medical / TB requirement

Medical/TB visa-corridor requirements are outside this travel-authorisation or border-system task.Outside this reference’s scope

Fees and currency

Fee evidence

GBP 20 government ETA application fee; not a universal local settlement or conversion amount.Official evidenceEffective from 2026-04-08. Applies to: UK ETA government application fee only, from the 8 April 2026 tariff. Date evidence

Local payable currency

In the UK ETA app, the service displays the price in the local currency for the applicant country and lets the applicant change the payment currency. Accepted options include Apple Pay, Google Pay, American Express, JCB, Mastercard and Visa. This statement is scoped to the app, not a fixed settlement amount for every country or the online route.Official evidenceEffective date not published: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for the app local-currency display and currency-choice instructions. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Exchange-rate information

The complete app payment instructions were read. They describe local-currency display and currency choice but publish no exchange-rate table, rate formula or fixed local conversion amount. No exchange rate is calculated here.Not published by the authorityOfficial evidence

• 20 GBP — Travel authorisation fee. Government UK ETA application fee only. App local-currency display/choice is a separate fact; no fixed foreign conversion or faster third-party service is promised. Fee source Effective from 2026-04-08; UK ETA government application fee only, from the 8 April 2026 tariff. Date source

Follow the authority's payment instructions. Optional provider services are separate from any government fee.

Dates and changes

The checked source does not publish a single effective date for this process: The complete public text was read. It does not state an effective date for this whole current adult-tourism application and travel workflow; the appendix states phased nationality rollout dates, rather than a single date for every current checklist and exemption. Page publication/update and access dates are not substituted; separately dated rollout, fee or temporary measures retain their own scope. Source checked

Additional review due by 2026-10-08.

1 October 2026 independent report follow-up: clarified the passport-information-image fallback and separate face photo; linked lawful Irish residence to Appendix ETA; used the age-16 threshold; added dual-citizen, island-scope, reapplication and ETA-check information. Removed hidden GOV.UK metadata from visible date labels. Re-read all used UK sources, including the announced unchanged October ETA fee; 8 October event review remains open. No human or manual originality review has been recorded.

Sources checked

• Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK: Overview — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. No visible publication/update date. GOV.UK machine metadata retained separately; not displayed as an editorial or effective date.
• Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK: Apply for an ETA — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. No visible publication/update date. GOV.UK machine metadata retained separately; not displayed as an editorial or effective date.
• Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK: When you do not need an ETA — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. No visible publication/update date. GOV.UK machine metadata retained separately; not displayed as an editorial or effective date.
• Using the 'UK ETA' app — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. Source date 2026-04-09. Visible public update/page-details date; not the rule effective date.
• Take a photo of your face for a visa application or permission — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. Source date 2026-02-12. Visible public update/page-details date; not the rule effective date.
• Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation - Guidance — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. Source date 2026-08-03. Visible manual-wide update date; not an appendix-specific effective date.
• Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK: What you can and cannot do with an ETA — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. No visible publication/update date. GOV.UK machine metadata retained separately; not displayed as an editorial or effective date.
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026 — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. Source date 2026-09-10. Visible public update/page-details date; not the rule effective date.
• Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix ETA National List - Guidance — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. Source date 2026-08-03. Visible manual-wide update date; not an appendix-specific effective date.
• Get a passport photo: Digital photos — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. No visible publication/update date. GOV.UK machine metadata retained separately; not displayed as an editorial or effective date.
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026 — UK Home Office / UKVI. Government / mission source. Checked 2026-10-01. Source date 2026-09-10. Visible public update/page-details date; not the rule effective date.

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