British and Irish dual nationals: you do not need a UK ETA
If you hold a British or Irish passport, stop here
British and Irish citizens do not need an ETA, and cannot get one. This holds even if you also hold a second nationality that would otherwise require one. Travel on your British or Irish passport and you are entering as a British or Irish citizen.
Nobody can sell you an ETA you are not eligible for. If a website has offered to obtain one for you on a British or Irish passport, that is a signal to close the tab — including ours.
Checked against GOV.UK guidance on 2026-08-28.
Which passport should a dual national travel on?
The British or Irish one, for the UK leg. Your other passport may still matter for the country you are departing from or connecting through — those are separate rules with separate authorities, and holding a British passport does not exempt you from, say, a Schengen requirement on the way.
If your British passport has expired
You still do not become eligible for an ETA. A British citizen with an expired British passport needs to renew it, or obtain a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in their non-British passport. An ETA is not an alternative route and applying for one will not help you board.
Who this page cannot help
If you are not a British or Irish citizen, none of the above applies to you and you probably do need an ETA. The eligibility checker below settles it in about a minute, and it will tell you when the answer is that you need a visitor visa instead — which no ETA can substitute for.