Do I Need a Visa to Visit the UK?

The short answer for US travelers

You don't need a visa for a short UK tourist trip, but you do need an ETA — an electronic pre-travel authorization linked to your passport, applied for online before you fly. It's not optional and it's not the same as having no requirement at all: an ETA covers stays of up to six months at a time, stays valid for two years or until your passport expires (whichever comes first), and currently costs £20 per application.

This is a genuinely new requirement, not something that's always existed. It became a real, enforced requirement for Americans on February 25, 2026 — before that date it existed on paper but wasn't consistently checked before boarding. Now airlines, ferries, and Eurostar all check for an approved ETA before you can board, so this isn't something to sort out at the UK border; it has to be done in advance.

How to apply

Apply through the official UK ETA app (the government recommends it because it can scan your passport's chip directly, which cuts down on data-entry mistakes) or at gov.uk/eta. You'll enter your passport details and answer a short set of screening questions covering criminal history, past immigration issues, and the purpose of your trip. Most applications are approved within minutes; the government advises allowing up to three business days, so don't apply the morning of your flight.

The fee is currently £20 and has already changed more than once since the scheme launched (it started lower and has risen twice), so treat that number as current-as-of-writing rather than fixed. Only use gov.uk or the official app — third-party sites that look like the real thing will charge you more for the identical application.

What actually changed in 2026

The ETA itself isn't brand new, but enforcement is. Between the requirement first applying to Americans and February 25, 2026, plenty of travelers still got through without one because it wasn't uniformly checked. That changed: airlines and other carriers now confirm you have an approved ETA before you're allowed to board at all, for every visa-exempt nationality covered by the scheme (85 countries, including the US). If you're working from an older article or a friend's experience from before that date, assume it's out of date — this is now a real boarding requirement, not a soft one.

Before you go

Apply for the ETA as soon as you've booked your flights, not the week before — approval is usually fast, but airlines won't let you board without it, and there's no way to sort it out at the airport. Confirm the current fee and requirements at gov.uk/eta before you apply, since both have moved since the scheme started, and carry standard travel insurance for the trip as you would for any international trip.