The Home Office confirmed on 29 November that the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will become fully enforceable on 25 February 2026. From that date, citizens of 85 visa-waiver countries—including the US, EU member states, Australia, Japan and the Gulf—must hold an approved ETA or e-Visa before airlines let them board flights to the UK.
The ETA costs £10 and is valid for multiple visits of up to six months over two years. Since the pilot launch in 2023, more than 13.3 million applications have been processed, with 97 percent auto-approved within minutes. Starting next February, however, carriers face fines if they carry passengers without “permission to travel”, mirroring the US ESTA system.
![‘No Permission, No Travel’: UK will make Electronic Travel Authorisation mandatory from 25 February 2026]()
For business-travel managers, the shift is significant. While most travellers will obtain approval quickly, those with recent criminal convictions or ambiguous passport data may face 72-hour reviews. Corporate travel policies should therefore require submission of ETA details at least five working days before departure to avoid last-minute cancellations. Travel-booking tools need to capture ETA numbers alongside Advance Passenger Information so that duty-of-care teams can spot non-compliant itineraries.
Airlines are updating DCS (departure-control systems) to ping UK Border Force in real time. Failure to verify an ETA will trigger a “no board” instruction similar to US APIS rejects. Low-cost carriers warn that check-in queues could lengthen initially, so employers may want to build extra lead time into airport transfers for frequent flyers in early 2026.
Strategically, the ETA completes a tri-part digital border plan that will eventually see all visas issued as e-Visas linked to passports by 2027. That promises frictionless e-gates and richer data for risk-screening—but only if travellers adapt quickly to the new paperwork-free mindset.
The ETA costs £10 and is valid for multiple visits of up to six months over two years. Since the pilot launch in 2023, more than 13.3 million applications have been processed, with 97 percent auto-approved within minutes. Starting next February, however, carriers face fines if they carry passengers without “permission to travel”, mirroring the US ESTA system.
For business-travel managers, the shift is significant. While most travellers will obtain approval quickly, those with recent criminal convictions or ambiguous passport data may face 72-hour reviews. Corporate travel policies should therefore require submission of ETA details at least five working days before departure to avoid last-minute cancellations. Travel-booking tools need to capture ETA numbers alongside Advance Passenger Information so that duty-of-care teams can spot non-compliant itineraries.
Airlines are updating DCS (departure-control systems) to ping UK Border Force in real time. Failure to verify an ETA will trigger a “no board” instruction similar to US APIS rejects. Low-cost carriers warn that check-in queues could lengthen initially, so employers may want to build extra lead time into airport transfers for frequent flyers in early 2026.
Strategically, the ETA completes a tri-part digital border plan that will eventually see all visas issued as e-Visas linked to passports by 2027. That promises frictionless e-gates and richer data for risk-screening—but only if travellers adapt quickly to the new paperwork-free mindset.
