Do children and babies need a UK ETA?
Yes — every child, at any age
There is no age exemption. GOV.UK states plainly that each person travelling needs an ETA, including babies and children. A newborn on a parent's lap needs one exactly as an adult does.
Each child's ETA is linked to that child's own passport, so it cannot be added to a parent's application or attached to a parent's passport. A family of four needs four separate ETAs and pays the £20 official fee four times.
An adult may complete and submit the application on a child's behalf. The child does not need their own email address or payment card.
Checked against GOV.UK guidance on 2026-08-28.
What catches families out
- Children's passports expire faster. A child passport typically runs five years, not ten, and an ETA dies with the passport it is linked to. Check the child's expiry date before you rely on an ETA you bought last year.
- A renewed child passport means a new ETA. This is the most common repeat cost for families, and it catches people mid-booking.
- A British child does not need one at all. If your child holds a British or Irish passport they cannot apply for an ETA and must travel on that passport.
- Names must match the passport exactly. Shortened or anglicised first names are a frequent cause of mismatch at check-in.
Applying for a whole family
You can add every traveller to a single application with us and pay once, and we check each child's passport details against each child's form before anything is filed. The official fee is still £20 per person — that part is the Home Office's, not ours, and nobody can discount it.