Passport and visa requirements for entering the UK

Passports

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals

You will not be able to use an EU, EEA or Swiss national ID card to enter the UK from 1 October 2021, unless you:

• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• have an EU Settlement Scheme family permit
• have a frontier worker permit
• are an S2 Healthcare Visitor
• are a Swiss Service Provider

In these cases, you can continue to use your national ID card to enter the UK until at least 31 December 2025. All other travellers will require a passport to enter the UK from this date.

Nationals from the Rest of the World

You must have a valid passport to enter the UK. It should be valid for the whole of your stay.

You may also need a visa, depending on which country you’re from.

Visas

If you're planning an adventure to the UK, you may need to organise a visa. Whether you need one or not depends on your nationality and your reason for visiting.

If you’re visiting from the EU

For the most up-to-date information on visiting the UK for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, please see the official government website.

If you’re visiting from the Rest of the World

If you're an American, Canadian or Australian tourist, you'll be able to travel visa-free throughout the UK, providing you have a valid passport and your reason for visiting meets the immigration rules. 

If you’re a tourist visiting from Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, you are able to travel visa-free around the UK. This also applies to nationals from some additional South American and Caribbean countries.   You can check if you need a UK visa here.

If you’re a national of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, or the UAE and you're planning to visit the UK, you may be able to get an electronic visa waiver instead of a visa. You can find further details at https://www.gov.uk/get-electronic-visa-waiver