UK ETA for Taiwanese citizens
Taiwanese passport holders can visit the UK without a visa for up to 6 months, but must now hold an approved ETA before departure.
Check your passport for an ID number first
Taiwan is unusual. It appears on the Home Office's visa national list, but with an exception written into the Immigration Rules: a Taiwanese passport that includes the holder's national identification card number is treated as a non-visa national passport. That single number decides which route you are on.
If the number is there, you need an ETA — £20 to the Home Office, and no visa application. If it is not, you are a visa national and need a Standard Visitor visa at £135 instead. An ETA application would be refused, and the fee is not returned.
Look at the biodata page of your passport, the printed page with your photograph. The identification card number is imprinted there for holders with household registration in Taiwan.
The passports that do not carry it generally belong to nationals without household registration — most often Taiwanese nationals born or living overseas, who hold a Taiwan passport but are not eligible for a national identification card. If that is you, apply for a Standard Visitor visa, and start up to three months before you travel rather than relying on the minutes an ETA usually takes.
UK ETA for Taiwan — key facts
- Taiwanese citizens do need a UK ETA before travelling to the United Kingdom.
- An ETA is not a visa and does not guarantee entry — a Border Force officer makes the final decision on arrival.
Verified against GOV.UK on 2026-10-12. UK ETA Gateway is a private agency, not the UK Government.
What is different for Taiwanese travellers
The ETA requirement began applying to Taiwanese passport holders on 8 January 2025. If you have not travelled to the United Kingdom since then, this will be your first ETA.
The fee is set by the Home Office in pounds sterling, so you are charged £49 and your bank converts it from New Taiwan dollar (TWD) at its own rate. We do not add a currency markup, and nobody — including us — can discount the £20 government portion.
A note on your name: Your passport may print the family name first. The ETA form asks for given names and family name separately, so enter each in the labelled field rather than in the order they appear on the page.
What Taiwanese travellers need
- A biometric Taiwanese passport that will still be valid when you travel
- A digital photo meeting the GOV.UK standard
- An email address and a payment card
- Truthful answers on criminal convictions and past immigration refusals
You do not need flight bookings, hotel reservations, bank statements or an invitation letter.
Every Taiwanese traveller needs their own ETA, including infants — there is no family application and no child discount. How ETAs work for children and families.
If you also hold British or Irish citizenship you cannot apply for an ETA at all — travel on that passport instead. Full requirements · Common questions.
Taiwan at a glance
- ETA requiredYes
- Official Home Office fee£20
- Our service fee£29
- Total through us£49
- Validity2 years or passport expiry
- Maximum stay per visit6 months
- Typical decisionMinutes; allow 3 working days
- Number of entriesUnlimited
Or apply yourself at gov.uk/eta for £20.