Travel to the United Kingdom

Citizens of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland cannot enter the UK using only a Citizen Card or Lifetime ID Card.
A passport is mandatory.

All non-European citizens from countries whose passengers are not required to obtain visas for short-term visits must secure an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to travel to and transit through the UK. As of April 2, 2025, this authorization will also be required for all eligible European citizens.

You can find more information about the ETA and eligible countries here.

Exceptions:

• The citizen has already received the Permanent Residence Permit or Temporary Residence Permit through the Resident Status (EU Settlement Scheme);
• The citizen applied for Resident Status (EU Settlement Scheme) by June 30th, 2021, but did not received a response to their application by the date of the trip;
• The citizen has a family permit issued by the United Kingdom (EU Settlement Scheme family permit);
• The citizen is visiting the UK for healthcare reasons (or is accompanying the person who will receive healthcare) under the S2 Healthcare Visitor agreement;
• The citizen has a Frontier Worker permit;
• The citizen is from Switzerland and has a Swiss Service Provider Visa.

Citizens from the EU, EEA and Switzerland referred to in the previous points can use their identification documents/ID cards to enter the UK until December 31st, 2025. Identity cards can be used after this date if they meet the security requirements defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

For more information, check the topics below and the following UK government pages:

• Brexit Agreement;
• Brexit Checker;
• Traveling with animals;
• Citizens from the EU, EEA and Switzerland travelling to the UK;
• Electronic Travel Authorizations (ETA).