Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

Why you may have read the opposite

The belief that Britain negotiated its way out of this is common, and the earlier version of this very page said so. It was wrong. There is no exclusion for UK nationals as such. There is a narrow exemption, it is about residence rather than nationality, and it is set out below.

Nothing is required today: ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. For when that changes, and for what the UK government says about timing while the EU says nothing, see the launch status tracker.

The Withdrawal Agreement exemption, and its two carve-outs

Beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement are exempt if they hold a uniform-format residence document confirming that status. Documents issued by Ireland do not allow travel without ETIAS at all, and documents issued by Cyprus allow travel without ETIAS only to Cyprus.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

Read that carefully if it applies to you, because the exemption is not uniform across the countries that issue the document. A British national living in Spain under the Agreement travels on the residence document. A British national living in Ireland under the Agreement does not: Ireland is outside this system, so an Irish-issued document exempts nobody from an authorisation for travel to the participating countries. A Cyprus-issued document exempts the holder for Cyprus and for nowhere else.

ETIAS and the UK ETA, side by side

Britain introduced its own authorisation for inbound visitors, which is why British readers usually understand the shape of this immediately. The two systems are the same idea and differ in almost every parameter.

Point of comparisonETIAS, for Britons visiting EuropeUK ETA, for visitors to Britain
Fee EUR 20 GBP 20
How long it lasts Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. Two years, or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. It permits multiple journeys, with stays of up to six months at a time.
How long you may stay 90 days in any 180 day period, counted across all the countries together. Up to six months per journey, counted per visit.
How quickly it is decided See how the application will work. Usually a decision by email within a day, and it can take up to three working days.
Who is exempt Applicants under 18 years or above 70 years of age at the time of the application. are exempt from the fee, not from the requirement. British and Irish citizens cannot hold one and do not need one.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

The stay row is the one to take seriously. A British traveller used to thinking in six month visitor visits will read a European limit and assume it resets on each trip. It does not. It is a rolling total across every participating country at once, which is a different unit of account entirely.

One aside for completeness, since it is the mirror of this page: the UK ETA is what a visiting American, Australian or Canadian friend needs before coming to see you. It is not something a British citizen holds.

What already changed, before any of this starts

The Entry/Exit System has been operating since 10 April 2026, and it is the change British travellers have already met at Dover, Folkestone and St Pancras. It records entries and exits digitally instead of stamping the passport. There is no cost for EES registration. The digital record itself lasts Three years.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

This is the part that reaches second home owners and frequent visitors. The short-stay limit has applied to British passports since the end of free movement, but for years it was policed through hand stamping that was inconsistent and easy to miscount. It is now counted by a system. The 90 in 180 day rule sets out how the rolling window works, and if you have been treating a property abroad as a second home rather than a series of short visits, that page is the one to read before the next trip rather than after it.

Your passport

Your travel document should not expire in less than three months and it should not be older than 10 years.

Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source

British readers have met the second half of that rule before. When extra months from an early renewal were carried onto a new passport, holders found that a document valid on its face was more than ten years old on its issue date, and were turned back on rules of exactly this shape. The condition applies to the document, not to the traveller, so the fix is to check the issue date rather than the expiry date.

Irish citizenship, if you hold it

A British citizen who also holds Irish citizenship travels on the Irish passport and none of this arises: free movement is a different legal basis, and the short-stay limit does not apply to it. Anyone entitled to Irish citizenship who has not claimed it is not exempt in the meantime, because the exemption follows the document you actually travel on.

Common questions

Does this apply to a day trip to Calais?

Yes, when the requirement starts. Land and sea crossings are inside its scope, and the checks on the ferry and the tunnel happen before you leave the United Kingdom rather than on arrival.

Will Ireland need one?

Ireland does not require an ETIAS and does not operate the Entry/Exit System. Which countries are in each list, and why the two lists are not the same, is on countries and territories.

The UK government mentions a date. Why does this site not?

Because the two are different kinds of statement, and we keep them apart rather than merging them into a sentence that reads like an announcement. Both are set out, labelled, on the launch status tracker.

Guides for other nationalities

Each of these covers the same requirement from a different starting point, because the comparison that makes it clear is different in each country.

Nationalities without a guide are listed in the data table on countries and territories. We would rather list a country once, accurately, than write a thin page about it.

Last verified 10 September 2026. How we verify