Starting today, new requirements for traveling to the United Kingdom are in place with the electronic travel authorization ETA. Without this permit, some passengers may not be allowed to board flights or other transportation. Learn more about who is affected by the new rules and what you need to check before traveling

Today, February 25, 2026, new entry rules came into force in the UK, changing the way millions of people travel. The launch of the ETA electronic authorization means that some passengers may not be allowed to board the flight at the airport of departure. The changes are most noticeable for dual citizens who previously had no problems entering the country with a foreign passport.

Planning a move, a long trip or a change of country of residence? Visit World's Migration Guide will help you understand visas, entry rules, residence permits, and other basic requirements for different countries around the world. It is a handy tool for those who want to prepare for a trip in advance and avoid common mistakes when filling out documents.

What is ETA and for whom is it mandatory from February 25, 2026?

ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) is an electronic permit to travel to the UK, which must be obtained before leaving the country of departure. Since February 25, 2026, ETA has become mandatory for most citizens of countries that previously could enter the UK without a visa, including tourists from the United States, Canada, Australia, and dozens of other countries. Without a valid ETA, an airline, rail or sea carrier has the right to refuse to allow a passenger to board.

ETA gives you the right to stay in the UK for up to 6 months for tourist, business or short-term study purposes. The permit is valid for 2 years or until the expiration of the passport (whichever comes first) and allows for multiple trips during this period. It is important that the ETA is tied to the passport with which the application is submitted, and you need to travel with the same document.

An ETA is also required for transit passengers if they need to go through passport control during a transfer in the UK. If the passenger does not leave the transit area of the airport and does not go through border control, then an ETA is not required. For travel for work or long-term study purposes, ETA is not suitable - in these cases, a visa is still required.

The ETA is not required for citizens of the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as for persons with permanent or pre-permanent residence status in the UK. For those who previously had to obtain a visa to enter the country, the new rules do not change anything - ETA does not replace the visa regime.

How to apply for ETA: procedure, validity period and cost

ETA is applied for online through the official application or website of the British government. The application must be submitted before the trip, and without a valid permit, the carrier may refuse to board a flight, train, or ferry to the UK. The procedure is fully digital and linked to a specific passport.

To apply you will need:

- Valid international passport;

- A photo of the prescribed format;

- Contact information;

- Answers to standardized questions in the application form.

The cost of ETA processing is £16 per application. The UK government has already announced plans to increase the fee to £20, so it is more profitable to apply for the permit in advance. Once approved, the ETA is valid for 2 years or until the passport expires. During this period, you can make several trips to the UK without reapplying if your passport has not been changed.

In most cases, the ETA decision is received within a few minutes after submitting the application through the application. At the same time, the British authorities recommend that you apply at least three business days before your trip to avoid problems in case of additional checks. If the applicant is denied an ETA, he or she will receive an explanation of the reason, but it is impossible to appeal the decision - in this situation, you need to apply for a visa to enter the UK.

An important nuance: ETA is digitally linked to a specific passport. If you change your passport after obtaining the permit or if it expires, you will need to apply for a new ETA. Traveling with a passport other than the one for which the permit is issued may result in denial of boarding at the airport of departure.

About the new UK visa rules in 2026 — read here.

How is ETA checked and why can I be denied boarding?

After the ETA is launched, document checks begin even before departure or departure to the UK. Airlines, rail and sea carriers have access to digital tools for checking travel authorization through the British Home Office system. This means that a passenger can be denied boarding at the airport or train station even if all other documents are formally in order, but the ETA is missing or invalid.

The ETA is linked to the passport electronically, so there is no need to present a separate paper document at the border. At the same time, the carrier and border services see the information about the permit in their systems. If the data in the application does not match the passport, the ETA is considered invalid, and this may be grounds for denial of boarding.

It is important to understand that having an ETA does not guarantee automatic entry to the UK. Upon arrival, the passenger still undergoes passport control, and border guards have the right to ask additional questions about the purpose of the trip, length of stay, or return tickets. If there are doubts about the grounds for entry, a person may not be allowed to enter the country even if they have a valid ETA.

In practice, the most common causes of problems with boarding a flight are not related to refusal of entry at the border, but rather to technical or formal errors: The ETA is issued for a different passport, the document has expired, the permit has not yet been approved, or the application is pending. In such situations, the carrier is not entitled to transport the passenger to the UK, as it is responsible for checking the entry permit.

What taxes do expats pay in the UK — find out by following the link.

What you need to have to enter the UK from February 25, 2026?

After the launch of the mandatory ETA system, the rules for entering the UK for certain categories of travelers have become stricter. For British dual nationals, it is no longer enough to simply present a foreign passport. From now on, to board a flight or cross the UK border, you need to have one of three documents:

1. A valid British passport. It automatically confirms the right to enter the country as a British citizen and does not require additional permits.

2. Certificate of Entitlement. This is a separate document that is attached to a foreign passport and confirms the holder's right to live in the UK. The cost of issuing such a certificate is approximately £589, and it is issued through the UK Visas and Immigration service. Without this document, the holder of a foreign passport may not be allowed to travel, even if he or she has British citizenship.

3. Irish passport (for Irish citizens). Holders of an Irish passport can enter the UK without a British passport or Certificate of Entitlement. They are subject to separate rules within the common migration area between Ireland and the UK.

These requirements apply specifically to situations where a person formally holds British citizenship but travels on a foreign passport. In this case, the absence of one of the listed documents may result in denial of boarding at the airport of departure.

What is not enough to enter the UK?

Starting February 25, 2026, a foreign passport will no longer be sufficient to enter the UK for dual nationals. Even if a person has been returning to the country for years without any problems using a passport of another country, this option no longer works. Without a British passport or a Certificate of Entitlement, the carrier has the right to refuse to allow the passenger to board the flight at the airport of departure.

ETA also does not solve this problem: Britons with dual citizenship cannot obtain an electronic travel permit, as it is intended only for non-UK citizens. Attempting to enter the UK with a foreign passport without proof of UK residency now directly threatens to deny travel or return at the stage of flight check-in.

How to move to the UK as a foreigner — we explain here.

Important nuances that travelers often do not know about

Even if formally all the rules are clear, in practice many problems arise due to details. For example, the Certificate of Entitlement, which used to be issued in physical form, is now gradually being transferred to a digital version linked to a UKVI account. If you have an old-style certificate, without activating digital access, the carrier's document check may be delayed or cause questions during boarding.

Another nuance is an expired British passport. Some airlines sometimes agree to accept an expired passport (issued after 1989) along with another document, but this is not guaranteed and depends on the policy of a particular carrier. Counting on such an exception is risky: in case of denied boarding, the responsibility will lie with the passenger, not the airline.

It is also worth remembering that the ETA does not replace the rules for dual nationals and is not a “fallback” option for returning to the UK. If the documents are issued on a different passport or their validity has expired, the carrier's digital checks will see this before departure, and the trip may be disrupted at the check-in stage.

Who is most affected by the new rules?

The new rules have created the most difficulties for dual nationals who have been traveling to the UK for years on a passport from another country and did not have a separate British passport or Certificate of Entitlement. For such people, the changes were unexpected: the documents are not issued automatically after obtaining citizenship, and the processing can take several weeks and require additional costs. If the trip was planned spontaneously or the person is outside the UK, the lack of the necessary documents can actually block the return.

Also, the new rules will be especially felt by travelers from countries that previously had a visa-free regime with the UK. Tourists, business travelers, and digital nomads are now forced to plan their trips in advance, taking into account ETAs and possible delays in application processing. There is a separate risk for passengers who often use the UK as a transit country: if you need to go through passport control during a transfer, the lack of an ETA can disrupt the entire route.

Before traveling or moving, it is important to have up-to-date information on migration rules and entry requirements. Visit World's Migration Guide has collected the key nuances of visas, residence permits, common risks, and common mistakes made by travelers. This is a convenient knowledge base that helps you better plan your itinerary and feel more confident when traveling to different countries.

We remind you! The United Kingdom has signed an agreement to return to the Erasmus+ academic mobility program after a six-year hiatus caused by Brexit. British students, teachers, and pupils will be able to study and intern in Europe again starting in the 2027/28 academic year. For more information on the terms of the agreement, the amount of funding, and the steps to prepare for participation in the program, follow the link.

---

---