UK ETA for business visitors: who needs one, what it costs, and what gets it refused

Clients, overseas colleagues, interview candidates and conference speakers coming to a UK organisation from Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and certain other countries usually need an electronic travel authorisation before they travel. It costs £20, usually comes back within a day and lasts two years. The parts that cause trouble are narrower: it is tied to one passport, it is needed for some connections and not others, and the Immigration Rules require refusal for any criminal conviction in the past twelve months. This page sets out what GOV.UK and Appendix ETA say, as read on 18 October 2026.

What an ETA is

In GOV.UK’s plain version, an ETA “lets you travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to 6 months.” It is permission to travel, not permission to enter: the visitor still sees a border officer, and “An ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.” The scheme was extended in phases; the last phase in the Rules opened for travel “on or after 2 April 2025”.

Who needs one, and who does not

This page does not reproduce the list of nationalities. It changes by rule amendment, and GOV.UK’s own checker is the authority for any individual passport. What it does say generally is that “You usually need an ETA rather than a visa if you’re from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other countries.” “Each person travelling needs an ETA, including babies and children.”

The dual-national trap

Overseas colleagues who are also British or Irish citizens are a separate case. “If you’re a dual citizen with British or Irish citizenship, you cannot get an ETA.” They travel on a British or Irish passport, or on another passport with a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode. A visitor who believes they may hold British citizenship by birth or descent should check before booking rather than at the airport.

What a business visitor can do with an ETA

The ETA does not create its own set of activities. It sits on the visitor rules, and GOV.UK puts the overlap in one line: an ETA lets a visitor “come to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, on a business trip or for short-term study”, and also “come to the UK for a permitted paid engagement”.

What it does not allow is the same as for any visitor. A visitor cannot “do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, unless you’re doing a permitted paid engagement or event or work on the Creative Worker visa concession”, and cannot “live in the UK through frequent or successive visits” Which meetings, training, site visits and audits count as a business visit is set out activity by activity on UK business visitor visa: permitted activities. Paid speaking and examining are on permitted paid engagements.

A host’s practical testIf the visit looks like work for the UK organisation, check the visitor rules before relying on an ETA. The visitor rules, not the ETA, decide it, and a work route such as the Global Business Mobility visas may be the answer.

Applying: fee, timing, and applying for someone else

• Fee: “It costs £20 to apply online or through the UK ETA app. You cannot get a refund after you apply.”
• Unofficial sites: “Other websites may charge more to apply. Avoid websites that imitate government services.” and “You cannot get a faster decision by applying through another website or app.”
• Timing: “You’ll usually get a decision by email within a day, but it can take up to 3 working days.” “You must wait until you get an email confirming you have an ETA before you travel to the UK.”
• For someone else: an assistant, host or travel booker can apply. “If the person you’re applying for is not with you, you must apply for their ETA online.” A photo of the passport and of the visitor’s face are needed.
• Help: “UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) cannot help with ETA enquiries over the phone.” Webchat is the route.

For a host organisation this turns into two rules for whoever issues invitations: send the GOV.UK link rather than a search term, given GOV.UK’s own warning about imitation sites, and ask for the application at least three working days before the visitor books anything they cannot change. Expenses policies that reimburse visitor costs can sensibly cap the ETA at the GOV.UK fee.

Validity, and the one-passport rule

The ETA allows repeated trips — “You can travel to the UK as many times as you want while you have an ETA.” — with each entry as “a Visitor, seeking entry for up to 6 months on each occasion”. For frequent visitors the field to watch is the passport. A colleague who renews a passport, or who travels on a second one, needs an ETA on the passport they actually present. The same is true of the EU’s equivalent for UK travellers going the other way, set out on ETIAS for UK business travellers.

The refusal grounds that catch business travellers out

An ETA application can be granted by machine, but the refusal grounds are written as requirements: where they apply, the application “must be refused”. Five matter in practice.

The first row is the widest. It is not limited to serious offences or to UK convictions: any conviction in the UK or overseas within the last twelve months requires refusal. GOV.UK’s advice to such travellers is direct: “If you have a criminal record or you were previously refused entry into the UK, you may want to apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead.” A visitor in that position should start a visa application early rather than discover the refusal a few days before the trip.

The fourth row is strict in a different way: information that is wrong counts “whether or not to the applicant’s knowledge”. When someone else fills in the form for the visitor, the person filling it in should check the passport details against the passport itself.

Changing planes in the UK

For connections the answer depends on the airport process rather than the ticket. A passenger who connects “you’re transiting through a UK airport without passing through border control (airside)” does not need one. A passenger who changes terminals or airports in a way that takes them through immigration does: “You need an ETA if you’re passing through border control at a UK airport before continuing your onward journey.” GOV.UK’s advice is to check with the airline.

A host organisation’s checklist

• Check each visitor’s passport nationality on GOV.UK, not from memory; note dual British or Irish nationals.
• Send the GOV.UK ETA link with the invitation; do not let visitors find it by search.
• Allow three working days for a decision before anything non-refundable is booked.
• Ask frequent visitors which passport they will travel on, and whether it is due for renewal.
• Check connections: airside is fine without an ETA, landside is not.
• If the visit involves anything like work, check the permitted activities first; the ETA does not decide it.
• If a visitor has a conviction in the last twelve months, plan for a visa, not an ETA.

This page quotes GOV.UK’s ETA guide and Appendix ETA of the Immigration Rules as read on 18 October 2026. The fee and validity are checked against an earlier reading of the same pages every time this site is built.

Common questions