What is an ETA?
The Electronic Travel Authorisation (‘ETA’) process was launched for non-European nationals in January 2025, and was extended to European nationals in April 2025. Now, all visitors require an ETA if they do not require a visa for short stays in the UK of up to six months. It bears similarity to the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (‘ESTA’) process that has been operating in the USA since 2008.
Importantly, an ETA is described by the Home Office as a “digital permission to travel” that “does not permit entry into the UK”. As such, great care is to be taken with the way in which an ETA application is prepared and submitted, particularly where a person’s past requires explanation.
The ETA process was introduced to streamline the way individuals obtain authorisation to travel to the UK, but as with many new digital processes, it does not come without its own complications. The succinct nature of the form and the limited ability of an applicant to include supporting information and documentation do carry a risk of refusal, particularly if historic criminality is involved.
If an applicant (i) has previously been refused entry to the UK or (ii) has a criminal record, they may wish to apply for a Standard Visitor visa or a Permitted Paid Engagement Visitor visa (even if they do not need one).
The ETA application
The ETA application includes sections entitled:
- Criminal convictions;
- Convictions in the last 12 months; and
- Prison sentences.
Very often, individuals with criminal convictions or prison sentences are able to evidence that their past conduct does not bear upon the risk that they pose today. Significant periods of time may have passed since prior offences had taken place, and indeed, most, if not all, convictions may well be spent. That all requires proper ventilation.
The Home Office’s ETA guidance to decision-makers says as follows concerning criminality and ETAs:
“An application for an ETA must be refused where the applicant either:
- has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more
- has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas unless more than 12 months have passed since the date of conviction
- Where criminality has been self-declared in the application, you must refer to self-declared suitability details.”
The self-declared suitability guidance to which the Home Office refers says:
“Where a self-declaration is made, the applicant will be asked to provide the following additional information:
- nature of conviction
- date of conviction
- country of conviction
- type of sentence (custodial / suspended)
- length of sentence
- The nature of an overseas conviction must be taken into consideration, rather than the title of the conviction alone, when assessing if a conviction is a direct equivalent in UK criminal law.”
In an ideal world, an ETA applicant would be able to collate and submit evidence going to all of the above listed points, but also factors such as: rehabilitation, a positive contribution to the economy within the applicant’s country of origin, the prospect of such contribution within the UK, the length of time since historic offending and, perhaps most importantly, evidence of reformed character.
Practical considerations: ETA or Visitor visa?
Unlike when applying for a Visitor visa, there is no provision to upload supporting documentation and evidence with an ETA application. Applicants are only able to upload a passport photograph, and are given a text box with a character limit of 1000 in order to explain their historic criminality – the absence of a sufficient explanation, with supporting evidence, will likely result in the ETA application being refused.
If a person’s ETA application is refused, they cannot appeal and instead need to apply for a Visitor visa if they still wish to seek permission to come to the UK, thereby greatly increasing the time and cost involved. This sequencing could create an uphill battle, with the starting point for consideration of a Visitor visa application likely being the previous refusal of an ETA application. In such scenarios, the Home Office may potentially seek to entrench its position.
Whether applying for an ETA or a Visitor visa, in the event of a refusal, the only available remedy is a claim for judicial review, within which the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber will consider the lawfulness of the Home Office’s decision. Crucially, claims for judicial review are based on the material that was before the decision-maker at the time that the decision was made. A primary benefit of making a Visitor visa application at the outset is that an applicant is given the opportunity to frontload their evidence, thereby enhancing the prospects of not only the application itself being granted but also a successful onward challenge if required.
In consequence, particularly with cases involving criminality, it is advisable to consider at the outset whether a Visitor visa application would be more appropriate than an ETA application.
Our Team
The Citizenship and Immigration department at Payne Hicks Beach is well-versed in preparing applications to travel to, enter and remain in the UK, even in the most difficult and complex scenarios. We are also experts in the appellate jurisdiction, regularly challenging Home Office decisions with success by way of statutory appeal and/or judicial review, with a close network of barristers who specialise in applications of this nature.
