The UK ETA for digital nomads

What the ETA is

An ETA is a digital permission to travel, linked to your passport. According to gov.uk it "lets you travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to 6 months" for tourism, visiting family and certain other reasons.

It isn't a visa, and it "does not guarantee entry". You still get permission to enter on arrival, and you may be asked questions at the border about your plans.

Who needs one

You usually need an ETA rather than a visa "if you're from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other countries". The Immigration Rules' ETA National List phased it in:

• From 15 November 2023: Qatar.
• From 22 February 2024: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
• From 8 January 2025: a long list including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay.
• From 2 April 2025: every EU country except Ireland, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican.

Each person travelling needs an ETA, including babies and children. If your nationality needs a visa to visit, you apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead. Not sure? Use gov.uk's visa checker, or see the UK's stay limits by passport.

Who doesn't need one

gov.uk lists several groups, including people who:

• are British or Irish citizens
• have a UK visa
• have permission to live, work or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status), or in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man
• are transiting a UK airport without passing through border control (airside)
• live in Ireland and are travelling from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man

The Ireland exemption has conditions. It applies if you're "from a country that would normally need an ETA to travel to the UK" and "entering the UK from Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man". If you're 16 or older you need to bring proof you live in Ireland, such as an Irish Residence Permit or Irish driving licence, and the document must be "an original", "issued by the Irish government" and "valid at the time you travel".

If you're a dual citizen with British or Irish citizenship, you "cannot get an ETA": you travel on your British or Irish passport (or another passport with a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode).

Cost, decision time and how long it lasts

• Cost: £20, and you can't get a refund. It has been £20 since 8 April 2026, up from £16: the Home Office's fees table of 8 April 2026 lists the ETA at £16 "current" and £20 from 8 April 2026, and its October 2026 table keeps it at £20.
• Where to apply: the UK ETA app (you scan your passport and face with your phone) or online at gov.uk. Other websites may charge more, and gov.uk says you "cannot get a faster decision by applying through another website or app".
• Decision: "usually … within a day, but it can take up to 3 working days". Wait for the email confirming your ETA before you travel.
• Validity: "2 years or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner", for as many trips as you like.
• New passport, new ETA: it's linked to your passport, so if your passport expires or changes you need a new one. It only works when you travel on the passport you applied with: worth remembering if you carry two.

For nomads, the practical tip is to apply as soon as a UK trip is likely, not the night before. At £20 for two years, it's cheap insurance against a last-minute delay.

What the ETA doesn't change: your stay limit

An ETA is permission to travel. Once you arrive you're a visitor, and the visitor rules apply exactly as before. With an ETA you cannot:

• stay in the UK for longer than 6 months
• do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person (with narrow exceptions such as permitted paid engagements)
• claim public funds
• live in the UK through frequent or successive visits

The ETA rules say the same: each journey is for "a Visitor, seeking entry for up to 6 months on each occasion". Visa365 counts this limit as 180 days per visit, a little under any six calendar months, so its count stays on the careful side. Passport-by-passport rules are on the United Kingdom page.

Frequent visits: the rule nomads trip over

On top of the limit per visit, a genuine visitor "will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home". The Home Office's guidance for officers (section 7.4) says they should look at:

• your stated purpose and how long you plan to stay
• the number of visits in the past 12 months, how long each was, the time since your last visit, and whether it adds up to "spending more time in the UK than in their home country"
• whether trips out of the UK are used "only to seek re-entry to the UK"

So a quick hop to Paris to "reset" before another long UK stay can raise questions. Keep a record of where you've been, so you can show your UK visits really are visits.

Can you work remotely in the UK?

Partly. Since 31 January 2024, the visitor rules let you "undertake activities relating to their employment overseas remotely from within the UK, providing this is not the primary purpose of their visit".

The Home Office's caseworker guidance fills in the detail:

• Allowed: remote work for your overseas job "such as responding to emails, answering phone calls or participating in remote meetings".
• The main purpose of your trip must be something else, such as tourism or visiting friends. If a visit's viability "substantially relies on an individual supporting themselves financially through remote work", officers should treat the work as the main purpose.
• On length: "Visitors are likely to stay for less than one month whilst undertaking remote work as a secondary activity", and "Activities lasting more than 90 days are not an automatic ground for refusal but may lead to questions about the nature of their remote work".

You still must not work in the UK, which includes doing work for a UK organisation or business and running a business as a self-employed person. The remote-work rule is written about "employment overseas", so if you freelance or run your own company, check how it applies to you before you rely on it.

Transiting through a UK airport

• Airside (you don't pass through border control): no ETA needed.
• Landside (you pass through border control, then come back through it and leave the UK, usually within 24 hours): you need an ETA.

gov.uk explains the two types of transit and suggests checking with your airline if you're not sure which applies to your connection.

The UK, Schengen and EES

The UK isn't in the Schengen Area: gov.uk's list of Schengen countries doesn't include it. That means:

• UK days don't count towards your Schengen 90. The 90/180 rule limits your "total stay in the Schengen area". But the 180-day period keeps rolling while you're in London, so plan your return with the Schengen calculator.
• Different systems. Europe's Entry/Exit System records entries and exits at Schengen borders. ETIAS, Europe's planned travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, isn't running yet: our EES guide has what the European Commission says about when it starts. The UK ETA is a separate application with its own fee and validity.

Tax: a separate count

UK visitor rules and UK tax residency are separate tests. Under the Statutory Residence Test you may be UK resident if you "spent 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year", which runs from 6 April to 5 April, and there are other tests based on your home, work and ties. HMRC counts a day if you're in the UK "at the end of the day (midnight)", with some exceptions. Visa365 counts any part of a day as a full day, so its UK count can be higher than HMRC's: a careful starting point, not a tax calculation. Our 183-day rule guide explains how the UK counts days for tax.

How Visa365 helps

The ETA takes care of the trip; the counting is up to you. Visa365 logs the country you're in each day automatically in the background, so your UK days build up without a spreadsheet:

• in the app's entry rules for the United Kingdom, pick your passport and one tap fills in the 180-days-per-visit limit
• see your days left and leave-by date, with alerts at the days-left counts you choose
• add a custom rolling window, such as days in any 365, to see how much of the past year you've spent in the UK
• add a days-per-year limit from 6 April to keep an eye on the UK tax year
• export your travel history as a PDF or spreadsheet (CSV) whenever you want a record of your trips

Visa365 counts any part of a day as a full day, so the day you fly in and the day you fly out both count. See also how to track the days you spend in each country.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an ETA for the UK?

Most visitors need either an ETA or a visa. You usually need an ETA if you're a national of an EU country (except Ireland), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and many more. You don't need one if you're a British or Irish citizen, if you have a UK visa, or if you have permission to live, work or study in the UK. Check your nationality with gov.uk's visa checker before you book.

How much is a UK ETA and how long is it valid?

It costs £20 on the UK ETA app or the gov.uk website, and you cannot get a refund. It lasts 2 years or until the passport you applied with expires, whichever is sooner, and you can travel to the UK as many times as you like while it is valid.

Can I work remotely in the UK on an ETA?

Within limits. Since 31 January 2024, the visitor rules let you do work for your overseas employer remotely from the UK, as long as it isn't the main purpose of your visit. You can't work for a UK company or as a self-employed person in the UK. The rule speaks of 'employment overseas', so if you freelance or run your own company, check how it applies to you before you rely on it. Home Office guidance tells officers to treat remote work as the main purpose if the visit only works financially because you keep working, and says longer stays may lead to questions about it.

Does an ETA let me stay longer in the UK?

No. An ETA is permission to travel, not a longer stay. You still come as a visitor, usually for up to 6 months per visit, and you must not live in the UK through frequent or successive visits. Visa365's entry rules count the UK limit as 180 days per visit.

Do I need an ETA to transit through Heathrow?

Not if you stay airside. gov.uk says you don't need an ETA if you transit a UK airport without passing through border control. If you pass through border control before your onward journey, you need one. Check with your airline if you're not sure.

Do I need a new ETA if I get a new passport?

Yes. Your ETA is linked to the passport you applied with and only works when you travel on that passport. If your passport expires or you get a new one, you'll need to apply for a new ETA.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) (what it is, who needs one, landside transit)
• GOV.UK: When you do not need an ETA (exemptions, airside transit, dual citizens)
• GOV.UK: What you can and cannot do with an ETA (6 months, work, frequent visits)
• GOV.UK: Apply for an ETA (£20, app or online, decision time, 2-year validity)
• GOV.UK: Check your ETA (new passport means a new ETA)
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026 (ETA fee £16, then £20 from 8 April 2026)
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026 (ETA fee unchanged at £20)
• Immigration Rules: Appendix ETA National List (nationalities and start dates)
• Immigration Rules: Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation (permission on arrival, validity, passport link)
• GOV.UK: Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor
• Immigration Rules: Appendix V: Visitor (genuine visitor, prohibited work)
• Immigration Rules: Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities (PA 4(h), remote work)
• Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 246 (remote work rule from 31 January 2024)
• Home Office: Visit caseworker guidance (remote working; frequent or successive visits, section 7.4)
• GOV.UK: Layovers and transiting through a UK airport
• GOV.UK: Travelling to the EU and Schengen area (Schengen countries)
• GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income, residence (183 days, the UK tax year)
• HMRC manual RFIG20710: meaning of a day spent in the UK (the midnight rule)

More guides

• How to track the days you spend in each country
• The 183-day rule for digital nomads
• Schengen 90/180 rule, explained, with a calculator
• EES explained for digital nomads
• How long can you stay? Stay limits by country
• Digital nomad visas