UK ETA

UK Visas and Immigration

About this app

Use the UK ETA app to apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to come to the UK.

Who can apply
Find out if you need an ETA to travel to the UK at: https://www.gov.uk/electronic-travel-authorisation.

How to apply on the UK ETA app
1. Take a photo of your passport.
2. Scan the chip in your passport.
3. Scan your face.
4. Take a photo of yourself.
5. Answer some questions about yourself.
6. Pay for your application.

It should only take 10 minutes to apply.

You do not need to enter your travel details.

Before you start

To apply you will need:
• Android 12 and above
• NFC (Near-Field Communication) so the app can scan your passport – if you can use your phone to pay for things using contactless, this means it has NFC
• the passport you will use to travel to the UK
• a credit card, debit card or Apple Pay
• access to your emails

If you're applying for someone else they must be with you. If they are not, you should apply online at: https://www.gov.uk/electronic-travel-authorisation.

If you need to travel soon
You must apply for an ETA before you travel to the UK. You can travel to the UK while waiting for a decision.

After you apply
You'll usually get a decision within 3 working days, but you may get a quicker decision. Occasionally, it may take longer than 3 working days.
If your ETA is approved, we'll link this to the passport you applied with. You must use this passport to travel to the UK.

Privacy and security
The app is safe and secure. No information is stored on the app or your phone after you close it. You can delete the app after you have completed your application.

For information on staying safe online visit the UK Cyber Aware website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home

Accessibility
You can read our accessibility statement at: https://confirm-your-identity.homeoffice.gov.uk/register/eta-app-accessibility

Ratings and reviews

it's great except for one bug. I filled in my home address using auto completion. that put the string USA in the country field. After that, the green Continue button did not respond. The app seemed to be hung. but when I used the menu to change USA into United States then the app worked. This is a bug. I hope you will tell the programmers so they can fix it.

The app worked well until I got to the screen to take my photo. They placed the button to take the photo under the Android button that minimizes all apps. I had to try more than 5 times before I was able to get it to take a photo instead of minimizing the app. I had to touch a very small area at the top of the button to make it work. After that, the process was easy.

I read all the negative reviews and also saw all the positive reviews. We used it for 2 ETA's and it worked quite well. I had to try taking the different pictures a couple of times only to learn what they were looking for. Once that was figured out, we got it. It would be nice if on the front page they would tell you what pictures you were going to take and what environment was needed, but that's the only downside I can think of. It's a good app and makes applying for the ETA painless and quick.

What’s new

Performance improvements