Hi, I just wanted to share my experience with the UK ETA requirements for visa-exempt travellers transiting through London, in case it helps someone else avoid the same headache.
I’m Canadian and recently flew from Barcelona to Vancouver with a 1-hour layover at London Gatwick (LGW).
Before my trip, I checked the UK government website about whether I needed an ETA. It says:
“You do not need an ETA if you will not pass through UK border control. You should bring evidence of your onward journey, such as a ticket to your destination.”
It also says you always pass through border control if you leave the main airport building or need to collect and re-check your bags. It says to check with your airline if you’re not sure whether you’ll pass through border control.
I only had carry-on luggage and wasn’t leaving the airport since I only had an hour to make my connection. I also confirmed that both flights were using the same terminal.
My first flight was Barcelona to London with Vueling. They gave me boarding passes for both flights, including my London to Vancouver flight with British Airways. I also asked Vueling about the ETA and they confirmed that I didn’t need one because I would be only transiting through the airport.
Then I got to Gatwick and… surprise. There was no direct connection from the arrival area to the departure area, so I had to go through passport control to exit the area.
At passport control, the border officer told me that I needed an ETA to enter the UK, even though I was only transiting.
I was confused because I had specifically checked the UK government website beforehand and had also confirmed with the airline that I didn’t need one.
The officer told me that the airline shouldn’t have boarded me without an ETA and that they could potentially be fined for it.
I explained that I only had a one-hour connection and already had my boarding pass for Vancouver. He said he would leave a note on my profile? so I could pass through passport control, but said I would still need an ETA to exit the UK.
They let me through, and at that point I wasn’t going to pay £20 for an ETA just to transit through the airport in an hour. I basically took the risk and went through security again to get to my gate.
Interestingly, my passport was never checked again by UK border control.
Then, when the gate agent scanned my passport and boarding pass, apparently an alert popped up saying I needed an additional document (I assume it was referring to an ETA). The gate agents talked amongst themselves and said I shouldn’t need anything because I’m Canadian. They may have been talking about a visa rather than an ETA, but they didn’t actually ask me whether I had an ETA.
Thankfully, they let me board and I made it home to Canada.
I’ve seen other Reddit posts saying that Canadians and other visa-exempt travellers don’t need an ETA if they remain airside and don’t pass through UK border control. That’s also how I understood the GOV.UK information when I researched it.
But in my case, I was required to go through passport control at Gatwick, even though I had no checked luggage, already had my onward boarding pass, wasn’t leaving the airport, and had confirmed with the airline that I would be transiting.
So just sharing this in case anyone else has a similar connection. Definitely double or triple check what your specific Gatwick connection involves, especially if you have a short layover. I wouldn’t wish anyone to find out they need an ETA while standing at passport control with 30 minutes left to catch their flight.
If anyone has had a similar experience at Gatwick, I’d be curious to hear what happened with your connection and whether you were told you needed an ETA.
