Know before you go: United Kingdom

From 25 February 2026, visitors of over 80 nationalities in scope are legally required to have an ETA when travelling to the UK, unless they already hold a UK visa or other UK immigration permission. The UK ETA is a digital pre-travel permission for non-visa national visitors. Under the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, nationals of countries including the United States, EU member states, Australia and Canada need an ETA to travel to the UK as a visitor, unless they already hold a UK visa or other UK immigration permission. The ETA allows visits for up to 6 months and is part of the UK Government’s digitalisation of travel and immigration to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

If you need an ETA and do not have one when you travel, the carrier is likely to refuse boarding, and an ETA costs £20 per traveller. Importantly, an ETA is permission to travel, not a guarantee of entry, as Border Force still decides whether you can enter when you arrive, and if an ETA is refused there is no right of appeal, though you may be able to apply again or apply for a visa instead. Applications are made online or via the official app, and the applicant must use the passport with which they intend to travel.

If your nationality is on the UK’s visa-required list, an ETA will not work for you. If you hold a passport from a visa-required country such as Pakistan, India, and many nations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, you must apply for a full Standard Visitor visa instead of an ETA, while citizens of the EU, EEA, Switzerland, the USA, Canada, Australia, and over 80 other countries can usually travel with just an ETA. A Standard Visitor visa can be applied for as early as 3 months before you travel, and the current fee for a short-term (up to 6 months) Standard Visitor visa is £135.

British and Irish nationals, and eligible residents of Ireland, will not require an ETA. Everyone else travelling is required to get an electronic travel authorisation, including babies and children.

Rules change often, so before booking or travelling, always confirm your exact requirement (ETA, visa, or exempt) on the official GOV.UK visa checker, not on third-party sites.

London’s public transport is built around tap-and-go payment. As well as an Oyster card or a Visitor Oyster card, you can use a contactless payment card or mobile device to pay as you go for public transport in London, simply touching your contactless card or device on the yellow card reader when you start and end your journey on the Tube, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services, though you don’t need to touch out at the end of your journey on buses and trams.

For most short-term visitors, a foreign contactless bank card or phone wallet is now simpler than buying a physical card. For pretty much every visitor, a contactless card or phone is the better way to pay, since the fares and the daily and weekly caps are identical to Oyster and you skip the card fee and deposit hassle. The system automatically works out your best fare: TfL automatically calculates the cheapest fare and applies daily and weekly caps, so you never overpay. Note that each person needs their own card or device, though you can add a card to Apple Pay or Google Pay so that one traveller uses the physical card and another uses a phone, since the system treats each device as a separate card with its own caps.

If your foreign card charges fees on every tap, a physical Oyster card can still make sense: if your contactless payment card has been issued outside the UK, check with your bank to see whether international transaction fees apply. Whichever you choose, avoid single paper tickets, which are poor value compared with tap-and-go pay-as-you-go fares.

Outside London, intercity travel is mainly by National Rail trains, long-distance coaches (National Express, Megabus) and domestic flights for Scotland, Northern Ireland and longer hops. Booking rail tickets in advance, and travelling off-peak, typically brings the biggest savings. Driving is on the left; city centre driving is often discouraged by congestion charges and low emission zones, so trains, buses, and rideshare/taxi apps are generally the easiest way to get around as a visitor.

The currency is the pound sterling (£, GBP). Contactless debit/credit cards and mobile wallets are accepted almost everywhere, from shops and restaurants to transport and even some market stalls, so carrying large amounts of cash is rarely necessary, though it’s wise to have a small amount for emergencies or small independent vendors that are cash-only.

Costs vary hugely by city and season. Accommodation, food, and entertainment are cheapest outside London and during the quieter months; London itself runs notably higher than the rest of the country for hotels, dining and attractions. As a rough guide from transport pricing: A Zone 1–2 Tube journey is £3.60 peak and £3.10 off-peak, any bus is £1.75, and the daily cap is £8.90. Many major museums and galleries are free to enter, which helps offset higher accommodation and dining costs: many museums and galleries remain free year-round, offering valuable activities that don’t strain your budget.

Booking ahead pays off. London hotel rooms that cost £80 per night in November can reach £150-200 in July, train tickets, especially on popular routes, increase during peak times, and booking accommodation and transport three months ahead typically saves 20-30% compared with last-minute bookings. Tipping is optional and modest: rounding up or adding around 10% in restaurants is common where service isn’t already included, but it is not expected in pubs, cafes or taxis in the way it is in some other countries.

For any life-threatening situation, police, ambulance, fire, or coastguard, 999 is the official emergency services number for the United Kingdom, but calls are also accepted on the European Union emergency number, 112, and all calls are answered by 999 operators and are always free. In the UK, 112 connects to the same services as 999 and works in exactly the same way, and neither number has priority over the other, so you may use either to reach the emergency services.

For issues that are not life-threatening, the UK has separate non-emergency lines. Non-emergency support is available through 101 for police matters, 111 for urgent medical advice, 105 for power cuts, and 0800 111 999 for gas leaks. For non-life-threatening health concerns, the UK offers NHS 111, a free, 24/7 helpline for medical advice and guidance.

Language is rarely a barrier when calling for help: emergency operators in the UK can access translation services, so you simply state your language and they will connect you to an interpreter. If texting is your only option in an emergency, note that you can text 999, but you must register your phone for the emergencySMS service in advance by texting “register” to 999 to set this up.

The UK is generally a safe destination for tourists; use ordinary city precautions around busy transport hubs and tourist sites (watch belongings, be alert to pickpocketing), keep your ETA/visa confirmation and travel insurance details accessible, and note the location of your country’s embassy or consulate in case you need consular assistance.