Traveller guides

School trips to the UK

Since ETAs arrived, the paperwork for school groups depends on where the school is. France and Germany have special school trip forms; groups from elsewhere follow the normal visitor rules for every pupil.

Facts checked Nov 2, 2026 against the sources listed at the end. Britlens is independent: see our editorial policy.

The Great Bath at the Roman Baths in Bath
Photo: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Rules are summarised from GOV.UK on the date shown. They change, and they are not legal advice: check GOV.UK for your own case before you book.

Schools in France and Germany

School trip travel information forms, from GOV.UK
FranceGermany
Group size5 or more children aged 18 or under [1]5 or more pupils aged 19 and under [2]
SchoolRegistered with the French Ministry of Education [1]Registered with the relevant local or competent authority [2]
Pupils' visa or ETANot needed, whatever their nationality [1]Not needed [2]
EU pupils' IDPassport or national identity card [1]Passport or national identity card [2]
CostFree [1]Free; in force since Aug 1, 2026 [2]

Everyone travelling must be listed on the form. Accompanying adults may need a visa or an ETA depending on their nationality. [1] [2] For French groups each child also needs an authorisation to leave the country (AST) and a copy of a parent's identity document. [1]

Schools elsewhere

Without a special form, each pupil and adult needs whatever their nationality requires: a visa, an ETA or neither. Each person in a group needs their own ETA, including children. [3] Educational exchanges and visits with schools are permitted activities for visitors. [4] Our ETA and visa guide explains how to apply.

Planning the days

  • Coach drivers must follow legal limits on driving hours and breaks, so allow for stops on long days. [5]
  • Many big attractions require groups to book ahead; at the Giant's Causeway, for example, groups arriving by coach or minibus must pre-book with the booking office. [6]
  • Free national museums are a good backbone for a city programme: see museums and free things to do.
The Jorvik Viking Centre in York
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. CambridgeBayWeather assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Popular history days include York, Bath, Oxford and Edinburgh.

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Photo: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quick answers

Do French schoolchildren need an ETA for a school trip to the UK?

Not if the trip uses the France-UK school trip travel information form; children on it need no visa or ETA. [1]

Does every child need their own ETA?

Yes, unless they travel on a school trip form: each person in a group needs an ETA, including babies and children. [3]

Related guides

Sources

Read on the dates shown. Rules, dates and services change: check the source before you rely on it. Pages marked “not read” refused automated access, so we state nothing from them.

  1. Visit the UK as part of a French school trip (opens in new tab), GOV.UK, read Nov 2, 2026
  2. Visit the UK as part of a German school trip (opens in new tab), GOV.UK, read Nov 2, 2026
  3. Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) (opens in new tab), GOV.UK, read Nov 2, 2026
  4. Immigration Rules Appendix Visitor: permitted activities (opens in new tab), GOV.UK (Home Office), read Nov 2, 2026
  5. Drivers' hours (opens in new tab), GOV.UK (DVSA), read Nov 2, 2026
  6. Giant's Causeway (opens in new tab), National Trust, read Nov 2, 2026