The UK's Electronic Travel Authorisation now applies to every visa-exempt visitor. US passport holders are included. Since April 2025, all visa-exempt nationals have needed an ETA to travel to the UK, unless they hold a valid UK visa or UK or Irish citizenship, per Wikipedia's visa policy entry. The paperwork sits with the guest. The disruptions still surface at the front desk.
The scheme is light by visa standards. The fee is £16. Most decisions arrive within hours, and the formal window runs up to three business days. An approved ETA lasts two years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. The risk sits in edge cases, not in the routine flow. For related coverage, see State fee laws stack on top of the FTC rule: where resort-fee disclosure is now strictest.
What is the ETA and who needs one?
An electronic travel authorisation is an online system that affirms a visitor's eligibility to travel under immigration laws, per Wikipedia's electronic visa entry. It confirms the visitor meets the conditions of entry. It is not a visa. The UK has run its scheme since November 2023.
Applications opened to non-EU nationals on 27 November 2024. That cohort needed an ETA for travel on or after 8 January 2025. EU nationals followed, with applications from 5 March 2025 and the rule mandatory from 2 April 2025. We covered a connected angle in ETIAS still not operating as of April 2026: no applications exist, and none should be paid for.
US passport holders sit inside the visa-exempt group. Irish citizens are exempt under the Common Travel Area. Travellers holding a valid UK visa do not need an ETA on top of it, per Wikipedia's visa policy entry.
What do UK ETA requirements ask of the applicant?
The core UK ETA requirements are administrative. The application runs online. The authorisation is stored electronically and linked to the passport number. No label, sticker or stamp goes into the passport, per Wikipedia's electronic visa entry. The receipt can be printed or kept on a phone. The fee is £16.
Processing is the variable to plan around. The formal allowance is three business days. Most applications should be approved or denied within hours, per Wikipedia's visa policy entry. The gap between the two is where group travel decisions get made.
How long does an ETA last and what does it allow?
An approved ETA covers stays of up to six months. It holds for two years, or until the holder's passport expires, if shorter. The six-month cap applies per stay. A renewed passport voids the approval, because it is tied to the old document's number.
One more front-office detail matters. Since 20 May 2019, citizens of the United States and seven other nationalities have generally received no arrival stamp. ePassport gates or a staffed desk, the result is the same. Guests who need proof of dates lean on hotel folios instead.
What does the ETA change for hotel operations?
The routine arrival does not change. The cost sits in exceptions. Pre-arrival notes for US and EU bookings gain a field. Group contracts gain a lead-time clause.
- Build the three-day window into group manifests, not same-day hopes.
- Flag passport renewals for frequent guests; a new passport means a new ETA.
- Add an ETA line to pre-arrival messages for visa-exempt markets.
- Keep folios and date confirmations clean; stamps no longer document every arrival.
For operators the math is small but real. One more pre-arrival field, one more gap that can surface at check-in or the border. Properties serving US and EU demand fold the check into flows they already run.
Conclusion: a routine check with edge-case cost
The ETA is a standing part of UK inbound travel. The routine case is a £16 form and a fast electronic approval. The expensive case is the guest who arrives without one, or whose new passport broke the link. Operators who fold the check into pre-arrival flows keep the friction in the paperwork, not in the lobby.
