What do I need to enter the UK?

The official pages

GOV.UK's Visit the UK section lists these pages: Check if you need a UK visa, Get an ETA, Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor, Visa to pass through the UK in transit, Marriage Visitor visa, and Visit the UK in a Chinese tour group.⁵

The checker's start page says that you may need a visa to come to the UK to visit, study or work, and that, depending on your nationality, you may need an ETA.¹ We do not list which nationalities need which. The checker holds that answer, and it can change.

ETA

An electronic travel authorization (ETA) lets you travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to 6 months, for tourism, visiting family or certain other reasons.² Each person needs their own, including babies and children, and you need one if you pass through UK border control at an airport before an onward journey.²

GOV.UK says most visitors need an ETA or a visa, and that you usually need an ETA rather than a visa if you are from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other countries. The official checker gives the answer for your passport.² GOV.UK's page for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens says that citizens of EU countries other than Ireland, and of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, can come for holidays or short trips with an ETA instead of a visa.⁶

GOV.UK says some people do not need an ETA, for example people with a British or Irish passport, or with permission to live, work or study in the UK. Dual citizens with British or Irish citizenship cannot get an ETA and should travel on their British or Irish passport (or another accepted proof of citizenship). If you live in Ireland and travel from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, you do not need an ETA, but you must carry one of the Irish documents GOV.UK lists.²

When we read it on Nov 1, 2026, GOV.UK said an ETA costs £20 to apply online or through the UK ETA app, with no refund after you apply. You usually get a decision by email within a day, but it can take up to 3 working days, and you must wait for that email before you travel. An ETA lasts 2 years or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner.^2,3

Apply only on GOV.UK or the official UK ETA app. GOV.UK says an ETA does not guarantee entry, that other websites may charge more, that you cannot get a faster decision by applying through another website or app, and that you should avoid websites that imitate government services.² The page also says UK Visas and Immigration cannot help with ETA enquiries by phone, and that help is available by webchat.²

Standard Visitor visa

GOV.UK says you can visit as a Standard Visitor for tourism, business, study on courses of up to 6 months and other permitted activities, and that you can usually stay for up to 6 months.⁴ You must apply online before you travel, and the earliest you can apply is 3 months before.⁴

Things the page says you cannot do include working for a UK company or as a self-employed person (with listed exceptions), claiming public funds, and living in the UK for long periods through frequent or successive visits. To marry or register a civil partnership you need a Marriage Visitor visa.⁴ You must show that you will leave at the end of your visit, can support yourself and can pay for your return or onward journey.⁴

Passing through

GOV.UK says you might need a visa to pass through the UK on your way to another country. It does not list countries on that page. You do not need a transit visa if you hold an ETA or a Standard Visitor visa, among other listed documents.⁷

GOV.UK says the transit visa fees may change slightly depending on which country you are in.⁷ The page separates a Direct Airside Transit visa (you change flights and do not go through border control) from a Visitor in Transit visa (you go through border control but leave within 48 hours). It says your airline can tell you whether you will go through border control.⁷

Ireland and the Common Travel Area

The Common Travel Area is a long-standing arrangement between the UK, the Crown Dependencies and Ireland. GOV.UK says British and Irish citizens can move freely and reside in either jurisdiction.⁸ The guidance carries update notes about Irish passport cards and about using a valid national identity card to enter the UK, but the page we read did not set out the details.⁸

If you are not a British or Irish citizen and are traveling from Ireland, the page we read did not answer what you need. Use the official checker. Do not assume that being in Ireland changes your answer.

Bringing goods and cash

GOV.UK says some goods can enter the UK without UK tax or duty if they are for personal use or gifts. The allowance depends on where you travel from and whether you arrive in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, and there is no personal allowance for goods you bring in to sell or use in a business.⁹ The overview gives no allowance figures. It points to separate pages for arrivals in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It adds that if you go over an allowance you pay tax and duty on all the goods in that category, and that you can declare goods online from 5 days (120 hours) before you arrive.⁹

Banned goods that customs will seize include controlled drugs, offensive weapons, self-defence sprays such as pepper spray, and personal imports of meat and dairy products from most non-EU countries. Some food and plant products, and items covered by CITES, are restricted.¹⁰

Cash has its own rule. GOV.UK says you must declare cash at or above a stated threshold when carrying it between Great Britain and a country outside the UK, that families or groups are counted together, and that Northern Ireland has a different threshold and different rules.¹¹ Read the threshold and how to declare on the official page; we do not copy the figure here because it is a rule that can change.

Traveling with medicines

GOV.UK's page covers medicine that contains a controlled drug. It says to carry it in your hand luggage and that it can be taken at the border if you cannot prove it was prescribed for you. If you do not live in the UK, you need a letter from the prescriber with your name, travel dates, a list of the medicine (amount, doses and strength) and their signature. You can bring up to 3 months' supply, and Schedule 1 drugs cannot come in without a licence.¹²

That page says nothing about medicines that are not controlled drugs. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist, and see pharmacies and urgent care for care once you are here.¹²

Amounts as GOV.UK stated them

These are the only amounts on this page. They are copied from the pages named, as they read on Nov 1, 2026, and match the Home Office fees table in force from Oct 8, 2026.³ They may have changed since: check the official page before you pay.

What we do not say

• Which nationalities need a visa, an ETA or neither. The checker holds that.
• A guaranteed decision time. GOV.UK says most ETA decisions come within a day but can take up to 3 working days, so do not leave it to the last minute.²
• Whether you will be admitted. GOV.UK says an ETA does not guarantee entry.²
• Customs allowance figures, or the cash declaration threshold. See the official pages above.
• Anything about embassies' own travel rules. To find your country's embassy or high commission, GOV.UK publishes a diplomatic list and a list of consular offices outside London.¹³

Next steps

• First time in Britain: money, plugs, SIM cards and getting around.
• Essentials: ETA steps, Oyster and contactless, tipping and plugs at a glance.
• The four nations: what is the same, and what differs, between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Health and safety: emergency numbers, the NHS, pharmacies and insurance.
• Arriving in London and getting between regions.