Take a couple flying to London for a family visit. She travels on a Canadian passport; he travels on a Pakistani passport. At check-in, she is asked about one document and he about another: she needs a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), while he needs a visitor visa.
That split catches plenty of travellers out, especially in mixed-nationality families. The ETA is small, digital and easy to forget — which is exactly why it deserves a proper entry in your travel records.
What a UK ETA actually is
An ETA is digital permission to travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. It is not a visa, and not a card or stamp you carry: it is linked electronically to the passport you applied with. The key facts, as published by GOV.UK:
- It costs £20 to apply, online or through the official UK ETA app, and there is no refund after you apply.
- You need the passport you will travel with, an email address, a payment card, and a photo of the applicant's face.
- You will usually get a decision by email within a day, but it can take up to 3 working days — and you must wait for the confirmation email before you travel.
- That email contains a 16-digit ETA reference number. Keep it.
- An ETA lasts for 2 years or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner, and you can travel as many times as you like while it is valid.
- Each visit can last up to 6 months, for tourism, visiting family and friends, a business trip or short-term study.
Two warnings matter most. First, apply only through GOV.UK or the official app: GOV.UK itself warns that other websites may charge more for the same application. Second, an ETA does not guarantee entry. It clears you to travel; a Border Force officer still makes the final decision when you arrive.
If you want the wider picture of how permissions like this differ from visas, our post on the difference between a visa and an entry requirement explains it in plain English.
Who needs one — and who does not
Whether you need an ETA or a visa depends on your nationality and your reason for travelling. You usually need an ETA rather than a visa if you are from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other visa-exempt countries. Travellers from countries whose citizens need a UK visa — Pakistan included — need a visitor visa instead; the ETA route does not apply to them.
You do not need an ETA if you hold a British or Irish passport, or if you already have a UK visa or permission to live, work or study in the UK. Transit matters too: if you pass through border control at a UK airport before continuing your journey (a "landside" transit), you need an ETA; if you stay airside without passing through border control, you do not, though check with your airline if you are unsure.
And one rule that surprises families: every traveller needs their own ETA, including babies and children. There is no family ETA and no group pass. One parent can apply on behalf of others, but each passport needs its own authorisation — which is why keeping a family record matters, as we covered in how to keep travel records for a family of five.
This is also where mixed-nationality couples need to be careful. If you travel as a couple on two different passports, do not assume one permission covers you both. Record each person's document separately, under the passport they actually travelled on — the same discipline we recommend in two passports, one trip.
The five things to record for every ETA trip
An ETA leaves almost no paper trail, so your own log becomes the record. For each trip, write down these five things at the time — not months later, when the details have blurred:
1. The 16-digit reference number and the confirmation email. Save the email somewhere you can find it again. If you ever need to check whether you still have an ETA or when it expires, GOV.UK lets you check online — but you will be glad you kept the reference.
2. The passport it is linked to. Record the passport number and its expiry date alongside the ETA. Because the ETA is tied to one specific passport, a passport renewal ends that link: do not assume an old ETA carries over to a new passport.
3. The ETA expiry date. Two years sounds like a long time, but it passes quietly — especially when it is cut short by a passport expiry. Put the earlier of the two dates in your log, and set a reminder a month before it.
4. Every entry and exit, with dates and routes. The UK does not stamp most passports on arrival any more, so your log may be the only place that shows when you actually entered and left. Note the date, the flight or train, and the airport or station.
5. Any change of plan mid-trip. Did you extend your stay or change your return flight? Note it. Small changes are the details people forget first, and they are the ones that matter when you are trying to remember exactly what happened on a past trip.
The mistakes that cause trouble at the airport
Most ETA problems are not dramatic; they are administrative:
- Applying too late. Do not leave it to the airport. Apply at least a few days before travel, and never travel until the confirmation email has arrived.
- Paying a copycat site. If a website charges far more than £20, it is not the official service. Use GOV.UK or the official UK ETA app only.
- A name or passport mismatch. Your ETA, your ticket and your passport must all agree. A small spelling difference between your ticket and your passport can cause real trouble at check-in — see what to do when your ticket and passport names do not match.
- Assuming the ETA is the entry decision. It is permission to travel, not a promise of entry. Carry the usual evidence for your visit — return ticket, accommodation details, and anything else that shows the purpose of your trip.
Keeping it all in one place
The ETA system is designed to be invisible: no sticker, no stamp, no card. That is convenient at the border and unhelpful six months later, when you are trying to remember which passport an ETA was attached to or when it expires. A simple habit fixes it: every time an ETA is granted, renewed or used, add one entry to your travel log with the reference number, the passport, the expiry date, and the dates you travelled.
PassportTrail is built for exactly this kind of quiet record-keeping: one place for your trips, documents and expiry dates, so nothing important lives only in an old email inbox.
PassportTrail provides personal record-keeping tools, not legal or immigration advice. Entry rules change, so always verify current requirements with official sources such as GOV.UK before you travel.
