Since February 2026 there is no longer such a thing as simply turning up in Britain with a passport. Almost every visitor now needs either a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation before they board. This page explains the system for every nationality, in plain English, and links only to the official GOV.UK pages, where you apply and pay.
The UK sorts visitors into three groups. Find yours first; everything else follows from it.
British and Irish citizens, and people who already have permission to live, work or study in the UK. Irish citizens can travel freely within the Common Travel Area (the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). Visa-exempt nationals who legally live in Ireland and travel from Ireland are also exempt from the ETA.
Nationals of the roughly 85 countries that may visit without a visa: every EU and EEA country and Switzerland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, the Gulf states and others, plus African countries such as Mauritius and Seychelles. You need an ETA before you board a plane, train or ferry to the UK.
Nationals of the countries on the official "visa national list" in Appendix Visitor of the Immigration Rules must apply for a visitor visa before travelling, even for a short holiday. This includes most of Africa, much of Asia and the Middle East, and some countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe, such as India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Colombia's neighbours and others. The list changes: use the GOV.UK checker below.
The ETA is not a visa. It is a digital permission linked to your passport, similar to the US ESTA. It became compulsory for all visa-free visitors on 25 February 2026: without it, airlines, Eurostar and ferry companies will refuse to let you board.
Visa nationals apply for a Standard Visitor visa before travelling. It covers tourism, visiting family, business meetings, short courses of up to six months and some medical treatment. It does not allow you to work or to claim public funds.
Of Africa's 54 countries, all but a handful are on the UK's visa national list. In practice, nationals of Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and most other African states need a visitor visa. Mauritius and Seychelles are the main exceptions: their nationals need an ETA instead.
Botswana was added to the visa list in October 2025, and Namibia in 2023. Applications are made online and completed at UK visa application centres in African capitals such as Accra, Lagos, Abuja, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kampala and Addis Ababa. Fees are paid in pounds or converted to local currency.
Our partner site GhanaFlights.info lists the foreign embassies and high commissions in Accra, and our flights to the UK guide covers every direct route from Africa.
If you change planes in the UK without passing through border control (airside transit), nationals of some countries still need a Direct Airside Transit Visa. If you pass through border control, for example to change airports between Heathrow and Gatwick or to collect bags, that is landside transit, and visa nationals need a visa for it, while ETA nationals need an ETA. Some exemptions apply to holders of valid visas for the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the Schengen area. The rules are detailed: check the GOV.UK transit guidance and your airline before booking a connection through London.
On arrival, a Border Force officer, or an eGate for many nationalities, checks your passport and permission to travel. Be ready to show:
Answer questions honestly and simply. Visitors may not work, study for longer than six months, marry without the correct visa, or use the visit to live in the UK through repeated long stays. Customs rules limit how much alcohol, tobacco and cash you can bring; declare large sums of cash.
These are the only places to check rules and apply. They all open GOV.UK in a new tab:
Once your permission is sorted, the fun part begins. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but are always welcome.
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