Do You Need Both ETIAS and a UK ETA in 2026?

You need both ETIAS and Britain’s ETA only if you are a non-EU, non-UK traveller visiting both the United Kingdom and the Schengen zone on the same trip, for example flying into London and then taking the train to Paris. These are two separate permits, each tied to your passport: a €20 ETIAS for Europe and a £20 travel permit for Britain.

TL;DR: ETIAS and the UK’s ETA are separate systems run by different governments. Americans, Canadians, Australians and other travellers who visit both the UK and Schengen need both. British citizens need just ETIAS for Europe, and EU citizens need just the ETA for Britain. Budget €20 plus £20 and apply on two official portals.

Швидкі факти	Детальна інформація
Two systems?	Yes — ETIAS (EU) and UK ETA (Britain)
Плата ETIAS	€20; valid 3 years
UK ETA fee	£20; valid 2 years
Who needs both	Visitors from outside both blocs, doing both regions
Запуск ETIAS	Not live yet; start date to be announced by the EU

Ключові факти

• У "The офіційна схема ETIAS will cost €20 and be valid for three years (or until your passport expires). It is not running yet, and the EU plans to publish the launch date several months ahead of time.
• Мандатним мандатним мандатним мандатним мандатним мандатним мандатним мандатним мандатним ETIAS (Європейська комісія, 2026); заявники віком до 18 років та старше 70 років не будуть платити розмір €20.
• The €20 ETIAS fee was fixed by the EU in липні 2025 року, up from an earlier €7 proposal. It will apply once ETIAS launches; ETIAS is not yet in operation and no launch date has been officially set.
• The UK ETA costs £20 and is already running, per офіційна сторінка ETA на gov.uk (accessed 2026).
• Compare both side by side in our Порівняння ETIAS та UK ETA, plus our what is ETIAS guide.

Do you need both ETIAS and a UK ETA?

You need the pair when your trip crosses two borders that run separate schemes — the UK on one side, Schengen on the other — and your nationality is exempt from visas but not from these authorisations. One trip, two systems, two applications.

The classic case is a multi-city holiday. An American couple flying into London for three nights, then Eurostar to Paris and on to Rome, touches both regimes: Britain wants a UK ETA, Schengen wants an ETIAS. Neither covers the other. Our ETIAS, UK ETA and ESTA comparison і before-and-after ETIAS guide map out exactly when each applies.

ETIAS vs UK ETA: two separate systems

ETIAS is the European Union’s travel authorisation for the Schengen area, costing €20 and valid three years. The UK ETA is Britain’s own permit, costing £20 and valid two years. Each has its own government, portal, fee and validity period. They only look alike on the surface.

The UK scheme is already running on the gov.uk site. ETIAS is not in operation yet and will run on the EU’s own portal; its start date will be published with several months’ notice. Both permits are linked electronically to your passport, and neither is a visa. People often assume one confirmation email covers both, but it never does. See how the EU side works in our покрокове керівництво по застосуванню, alongside our Schengen explainer.

Особливість	ETIAS (ЄС)	UK ETA (Britain)
Охоплює	Schengen area (29 countries)	Сполучене Королівство
Гонорар	€20	£20
Термін дії	3 роки	2 роки
Status in 2026	Ще не запущено; дата початку не оголошена	Already live
Where to apply	travel-europe.europa.eu	gov.uk

Who needs both, and who needs only one?

Travellers from outside both the EU and the UK (Americans, Canadians, Australians and many more) need both permits when they visit both regions. British citizens need ETIAS alone, and EU or EEA travellers need only the ETA for Britain, because each group is already at home in one of the two zones. Your passport decides your combination.

Work out your own case first. A British family flying to Spain needs ETIAS but no UK permit, since they are already UK nationals. A German visiting London needs the UK ETA but no ETIAS, because they travel inside their own bloc. A Japanese tourist doing London and Amsterdam needs the pair. Our British citizens post-Brexit guide, plus our Контрольний список для дорослих британських паспортів, cover the British angle in detail.

Порада професіонала: Transiting airside at Heathrow or Manchester without passing border control is currently covered by a temporary UK ETA exemption (some nationalities need a Direct Airside Transit Visa instead), but the moment you clear UK immigration — even for a layover hotel — a UK ETA applies. When in doubt, check the direction and border of every leg separately.

How much do ETIAS and a UK ETA cost together?

Each permit has its own fee: £20 for the UK ETA and €20 for ETIAS, which applies once ETIAS launches (travellers under 18 or over 70 are exempt from the ETIAS fee). ETIAS stays valid for three years and Britain’s permit for two, so the pair covers repeat trips for years rather than a single visit. You pay each fee once, not on every trip.

Spread across their validity, the numbers are small. A traveller who visits London and Europe twice a year pays the two fees once and rides them for the life of each permit. Children under 18 and adults over 70 pay nothing for ETIAS, which trims a family’s bill; the UK government publishes its own age and fee rules for its ETA. For the euro side, see the Посібник з витрат ETIAS і контрольний список вимог ETIAS.

How to apply for both before a UK and Europe trip

Apply for each permit on its own official portal: the UK ETA on gov.uk now, and ETIAS on the EU’s portal once it launches (the launch date will be published several months beforehand). Expect two applications of roughly 20 minutes each.

1. Apply for the UK ETA via gov.uk if your trip includes Britain; it is live and usually decided within days.
2. Apply for ETIAS on travel-europe.europa.eu once it opens (no applications are accepted yet), for your Schengen legs.
3. Use the same passport for both, and enter the details exactly as printed.
4. Pay each fee separately — €20 to the EU, £20 to the UK — by card.
5. Save both confirmations and carry them for every relevant leg of the journey.

The official fees are £20 for the UK ETA and €20 for ETIAS; other websites may charge more, so check the price before you pay. For more, read our Попередження про шахрайство ETIAS і посібнику офіційних та сторонніх послуг. Sequence the whole journey with our повного контрольного списку подорожування.

Common mistakes with the two permits

The biggest slip-ups are assuming one authorisation covers both regions, applying for the wrong one for your direction of travel, and leaving ETIAS to the last minute when its launch and possible processing delays demand more lead time. A little planning removes all three risks.

• Don’t assume overlap: a UK ETA never covers Schengen, and ETIAS never covers Britain.
• Don’t mix up direction: London-bound legs need the UK ETA; Paris-bound legs need the EU one.
• Don’t leave it late: подайте заявку на ETIAS, як тільки вона відкриється, задовго до вильоту.

гіпотетичний приклад показує, чому порядок важливий: мандрівник із Сіднея бронює тур до Лондона та Парижа, рано розраховується з UK ETA, але забуває про ETIAS до тижня подорожі — залишаючи ногу Шенгену в сумніві. Обробка обох разом, місяцями раніше, уникає цього. The Путівник вихідних днів Шенгену і посібник ETIAS Парижа допомога з європейської сторони.

Поширені запитання

Do you need both ETIAS and a UK ETA in 2026?

Only if you hold a passport from outside both the EU and the UK and your trip takes in Britain plus Schengen. UK passport holders need only ETIAS, and EU passport holders need only the British ETA. Everyone else visiting both regions needs both permits.

Is ETIAS the same as a UK ETA?

Ні. ETIAS — це дозвіл ЄС для Шенгену вартістю 20 євро на три роки. британська ETA — це окремий дозвіл вартістю 20 фунтів стерлінгів на два роки. Різні уряди управляють кожним з них на різних веб-сайтах.

Do British citizens need a UK ETA?

No. UK passport holders do not need an ETA for their own country, but they will need ETIAS to enter Schengen once the system launches, since UK nationals now travel as non-EU visitors.

Do EU citizens need ETIAS to visit the UK?

No. An EU passport needs the UK ETA for Britain, not ETIAS, because ETIAS does not apply to EU citizens at all. The direction of travel decides which permit applies.

How much do the two permits cost together?

ETIAS will charge €20 once it launches (under-18s and over-70s are exempt), and the UK ETA costs £20. ETIAS lasts three years and the UK ETA two, so both cover repeat trips.

Can I use one application for both?

No. You apply separately: the UK ETA through gov.uk and ETIAS on the official EU portal. They are run by different authorities and cannot be combined into a single form or payment.

Which do I apply for first?

Apply for whichever your trip needs soonest. The UK ETA is live now; ETIAS is not in operation yet, and the EU will announce its start date several months in advance. If your trip covers both, sort each well before departure to avoid any delay.

Про автора: Анна Рейнгольт — редакторка документів про подорожі, яка спеціалізується на ETIAS для відвідувачів з країн, що не входять до ЄС. Кожна вартість і дата тут перевіряються порівняно з офіційними джерелами Європейської комісії та британського уряду. Ми — незалежний веб-сайт про інформацію про подорожі, а не орган влади; ви подаєте заявку безпосередньо на офіційних порталах. Оновлено: 2026-07-08 — факти перевірені за допомогою europa.eu та gov.uk.