UK ETA or visa — which do you need?
Your nationality decides, not your reason for travelling. One passport, one answer.
The short answer
An ETA and a visitor visa are alternatives, never both. If your nationality lets you enter the UK without a visa, you need an ETA — £20, decided in minutes, valid 2 years. If your nationality requires a visa, an ETA is not available to you and does not apply; you must apply for a visitor visa instead, which costs considerably more and takes weeks.
An ETA is not a visa and does not guarantee entry. It authorises you to travel to the UK; a Border Force officer still decides admission when you arrive.
Checked against GOV.UK guidance on 2026-08-28.
Side by side
| UK ETA | Visitor visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Non-visa nationals | Visa nationals |
| Official cost | £20 | Substantially more |
| Decision time | Often minutes; allow 3 working days | Typically several weeks |
| Biometrics appointment | No | Usually yes |
| Validity | 2 years, or passport expiry | Varies by route |
| Maximum stay | 6 months per visit | Usually 6 months per visit |
What the ETA lets you do
Tourism, visiting family and friends, business meetings and conferences, short courses of study, and transit through UK border control. What it does not cover is working for a UK employer, long courses, or settling. Those are separate visa routes, and no ETA converts into one.
If you are a visa national, we will tell you
Some sites will happily take a fee for an ETA application that cannot succeed. Our eligibility checker refuses the sale and points you at the correct visa route instead. It costs us the order and saves you £49 and a wasted month.