French passport holders have needed a UK ETA since April 2025 — including on the Eurostar and the Channel ferries. Two years of validity, multiple entries, and up to six months in Britain per visit.
6 months
Maximum stay per visit
2 years
ETA validity
Multiple
Entries permitted
3 working days
Typical decision time
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
No two countries in Europe move more people between them than France and the United Kingdom. The Channel is twenty-one miles wide at its narrowest, the Eurostar reaches St Pancras from Gare du Nord in a little over two hours, and hundreds of thousands of French citizens live, study or work in Britain while a comparable number of Britons do the reverse in France. For decades the border between them was, in practice, barely a border at all for EU citizens.
That changed twice. First Brexit ended free movement, and identity cards stopped being accepted for travel in October 2021 — French visitors have needed a passport ever since. Then, from April 2025, the Electronic Travel Authorisation was extended to European nationalities, and French citizens joined the scheme. The ETA is not a visa and does not restore anything resembling a visa regime, but it is a genuine change in habit for a population accustomed to simply turning up.
The detail that matters most for France, more than for almost any other country, is that the ETA applies to every mode of travel. It is not just a flight requirement. Eurostar checks it at Gare du Nord and Lille before you board. Eurotunnel Le Shuttle checks it at Coquelles before your car goes onto the train. The ferry operators check it at Calais, Dieppe, Caen, Le Havre and Saint-Malo. A weekend in London by car or train needs exactly the same authorisation as a flight from Nice.
At a glance
Eligibility
You do not need a visa, but you do need an ETA. France is a non-visa national country for UK purposes, so French citizens travel to Britain as visitors for tourism, seeing family, business, conferences or short courses without any consular application. The ETA is a digital pre-travel permission applied for online and linked to your passport number — it does not reduce what you may do in Britain and does not shorten the six months French visitors are allowed.
Every traveller needs their own, at any age. Babies and children need an ETA linked to their own passport and cannot be added to a parent's application. A family of four makes four applications. This is a real change for French families used to travelling to England on a whim, and it is worth building into the planning of any school trip, family visit or long weekend.
The exemptions are important in the French case because so many people qualify for one. French citizens who hold a UK visa, settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or indefinite leave to remain do not need an ETA — their existing status carries the permission. Dual nationals travelling on a British or Irish passport need nothing at all. Given how many French citizens living in Britain hold EUSS status, and how many have an Irish grandparent, it is worth checking before paying for anything.
Remember too that the identity card no longer works. Since October 2021 the carte nationale d'identité has not been accepted for travel to the UK for most travellers, and you need a passport. The exception is for French citizens with EU Settlement Scheme status, who may still use an ID card. Everyone else needs a passport, and the ETA attaches to that passport rather than to any other document.
Stay & validity
An approved ETA lasts two years from the date it is granted, or until your French passport expires, whichever comes first. Within that window there is no limit on the number of crossings — and for France, where a trip to London might happen several times a year, that unlimited multiple entry is the whole point. One application covers two years of weekends, business trips and school holidays.
The passport-expiry rule is where the two-year figure misleads. The ETA is bound to the passport number you enter and dies with the document. French passports run for ten years for adults and five for children, and applying in the final months of one produces an authorisation with only those months of life. Renewal does not carry it across — no transfer, no refund. Children's passports are the usual casualty here because they turn over so quickly.
The UK does not require six months of onward passport validity; your passport simply needs to cover your stay in Britain. This is more relaxed than the rule the EU applies to third-country nationals arriving in Schengen, which sometimes confuses French travellers who assume symmetry. For a trip that is purely France to Britain and back, the British rule is the only one that applies.
Six months per visit is the maximum for a single entry and is far more than any short trip needs — but it matters for two French groups in particular. Students on courses longer than six months need a Student visa rather than an ETA, which affects anyone doing an academic year or a long language programme. And French citizens who effectively split their life between the two countries should be careful: repeated long stays that account for most of the year look like residence rather than visiting, and Border Force does notice the pattern across entries.
Pricing
Live fees for French passport holders, shown all-in — the Home Office charge and our service fee together, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as France
Requirements
Everything French passport holders need before starting an application. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality.
Passport bio-data page — a clear colour scan or photo showing your photograph, full name, date of birth, passport number and expiry date
Recent digital photograph — full face visible against a plain background, taken within the last six months, with no headwear other than for religious or medical reasons
A valid email address, which is where the approval is sent and which you should keep accessible while travelling
A credit or debit card to pay the Home Office ETA fee and our service fee together
Your travel and accommodation details — Border Force can ask about the purpose of your visit and where you are staying
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with our team checking every field before anything reaches the Home Office.
Enter your passport details exactly as printed, answer the suitability questions and upload your photograph. Most applicants finish in under ten minutes.
Our team checks your photo, passport number, name spelling and declarations against Home Office requirements before anything is submitted.
Your application goes to UK Visas and Immigration with the government fee paid, and we track its status until a decision is issued.
There is no sticker, label or document to print. The authorisation is held digitally against your passport number, and we explain exactly what to show at check-in.
Applications from France are decided automatically in the overwhelming majority of cases, and most applicants receive approval within minutes. The Home Office asks travellers to allow up to three working days, and a small proportion are referred for manual review — usually where a photograph fails the automated check rather than for anything substantive.
Apply at least a week before you travel. The buffer is not about processing speed but about having room to correct a mistyped passport number or replace a rejected photograph without paying a second time. Because trips to Britain from France are so often booked at short notice — a weekend in London, a match, a concert — this is the market where last-minute applications are most common and most risky.
One point specific to France: the ETA is checked at the point of departure on every mode, and the juxtaposed border controls mean UK Border Force officers are physically present at Gare du Nord, Lille, Calais and Coquelles. You clear British immigration in France, before you leave. A missing ETA is therefore discovered on the French side, where there is no way to resolve it in time for that train or that sailing.
On arrival
An approved ETA gets you on the plane. This is what happens once you land — and your nationality is one of those that can use the automated gates.
Your nationality is eligible to use the automated gates at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and most other UK ports, alongside British and Irish citizens. The gate reads your biometric passport chip and checks your ETA against it electronically.
Children aged 10 or 11 can use the gates when accompanied by an adult using them at the same time. Younger children must be seen at a staffed desk, so families with under-tens should join the officer queue together.
The gates do not stamp passports. Your arrival is recorded digitally, and your six-month permission runs from that date. Keep your boarding pass and booking confirmations if you need to evidence your arrival date later.
The gates refer a proportion of passengers to Border Force at random or where the chip does not read cleanly. This is routine, is not a sign of a problem with your ETA, and usually adds only a few minutes.
Getting there
France is the only country with every possible way of reaching Britain — high-speed rail, a car shuttle under the Channel, a dense ferry network and flights from every major city. Eurostar is the fastest city-centre-to-city-centre option, while Eurotunnel and the ferries carry the vast majority of travellers taking their own car.
Best time to go
Britain and France share a climate closely enough that the seasonal logic is familiar, with one difference French visitors consistently underestimate: the British summer is cooler and wetter than anywhere south of the Loire, and the British summer evening is far longer. In June, daylight in Scotland runs past ten at night — genuinely striking if you are used to the Mediterranean rhythm.
May, June and September are the strongest months. The weather is at its most reliable, the countryside is at its best, and prices sit below the July and August peak. September is particularly good value because British school holidays have ended and the weather in the south of England often holds well into October.
The French holiday calendar is worth planning around rather than following. The grandes vacances in late July and August coincide exactly with the British school holidays, which means the most expensive and most crowded period in both countries at once. If your dates are flexible, the two weeks either side of the rentrée deliver the same trip for considerably less. Toussaint and the February holidays are good windows for a London city break, when the city is quiet and hotel prices fall.
One scheduling detail. Britain is one hour behind France year-round, and both countries change their clocks on the same dates, so the difference never varies. That makes Eurostar timings unusually easy to plan — but do remember that the advertised journey time excludes the check-in window, which is longer than a domestic TGV and now includes a UK border check on the French side.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from France — we check for every one of them before submitting.
This is the defining French error. The ETA applies equally to Eurostar, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle and every Channel ferry. Travellers who correctly obtain one for a flight to Edinburgh then drive to Calais for a weekend without thinking about it, and are stopped at Coquelles. Every mode of travel to the UK needs the same authorisation.
The carte nationale d'identité has not been accepted for travel to Britain since October 2021 for most travellers. You need a passport, and the ETA is linked to that passport number. The only exception is for French citizens holding EU Settlement Scheme status, who may still use an ID card and do not need an ETA at all.
A great many French citizens living in Britain hold settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. That status already carries the permission to travel, and an ETA is neither needed nor useful. Check your status before applying — this is money regularly spent for nothing.
Every traveller needs their own ETA regardless of age, and children cannot be added to a parent's application. French families used to crossing the Channel without a second thought are the group most likely to arrive at Calais with the adults authorised and the children not. Note also that children's passports run for five years, so the ETA linked to one expires sooner.
Because Britain and France are so close, trips are often decided at short notice. Most applications are approved within minutes, but a photograph that fails the automated check turns that into a wait of up to three working days. With UK border officers stationed in Paris and Calais, a missing ETA is discovered before you leave France and cannot be fixed in time for that departure.
The ETA permits study of up to six months. A French student doing an academic year at a British university, an Erasmus-style exchange running beyond six months, or a long language programme needs a Student visa applied for in advance. It cannot be arranged after arriving on an ETA.
Passport number mistyped
By far the most common problem. The authorisation attaches to the number you enter, so a single wrong character produces an ETA that does not exist as far as the airline's check is concerned.
An undeclared conviction or refusal
The Home Office asks about criminal convictions and previous immigration refusals or removals. History found later is treated far more seriously than the original matter would have been if declared.
A photograph that fails the check
Shadows across the face, glasses, a patterned background or a cropped chin all cause the automated check to reject an image, which turns a routine approval into a manual review.
Conditions
These conditions are set by the UK Home Office and do not vary by nationality. The passport-linking rule in particular catches out a great many otherwise well-planned trips.
Your authorisation is held digitally against the passport number you enter. There is nothing placed in your passport and nothing to print for the border. If you renew or replace that passport, the ETA does not transfer — you must apply for a new one on the new document.
Every person travelling needs their own ETA, including babies and children. A child cannot be added to a parent's application, and each traveller needs their own valid passport to apply against.
An approved ETA lasts two years from the date it is granted, or until the expiry date of the passport it is linked to, whichever comes first. This is the single most misunderstood rule in the scheme — a passport with eight months left produces an ETA with eight months left.
Within its validity you can travel to the UK as many times as you like. Each individual visit can be up to six months. There is no formal annual cap, but repeated long stays that add up to the majority of the year will attract questions at the border.
One ETA covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and it is also accepted for travel to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. You do not need a separate authorisation for the Crown Dependencies.
An ETA lets you board your flight, train or ship. The decision to admit you is made by Border Force on arrival, who can ask about your funds, your accommodation, your onward plans and the purpose of your visit.
Consular services
The United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Paris and consular offices in Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille, but none has any role in issuing an ETA. The application is completed online and decided digitally — no interview, no appointment and no passport submission. These missions handle consular assistance, visa routes where an ETA is not appropriate, and support for applicants whose circumstances need a human decision.
FAQs
The questions French passport holders ask most often about travelling to the United Kingdom.
No. French citizens do not need a visa for tourism, business visits, short study or transit in the United Kingdom. Since April 2025 they do need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a digital permission linked to the passport rather than a visa. It is applied for online in about ten minutes and is usually approved the same day.
Yes. The ETA applies to every mode of travel to the United Kingdom, not only flights. Eurostar checks it at Gare du Nord and Lille before boarding, and UK Border Force officers are stationed there under the juxtaposed controls arrangement. The same applies to Eurotunnel Le Shuttle at Coquelles and to every Channel ferry.
In most cases no. The carte nationale d'identité has not been accepted for travel to Britain since October 2021, and you need a passport. The exception is for French citizens holding EU Settlement Scheme status, who may continue to use an ID card — and who do not need an ETA at all, since their status already carries the permission to travel.
No. French citizens with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, indefinite leave to remain, or a valid UK visa do not need an ETA. Your existing status carries the permission to travel. Applying for an ETA in these circumstances is money spent unnecessarily, so check your status before paying.
Up to six months per visit. The ETA is valid for two years, or until your French passport expires if that comes sooner, and permits unlimited crossings within that period. Six months is a per-visit maximum rather than an annual allowance — repeatedly using most of it will lead Border Force to question whether you are living in Britain rather than visiting.
Yes. French citizens, like all EU nationals, are eligible to use the automated ePassport gates at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and most other UK ports, provided the passport is biometric and the traveller is aged 10 or over. Children aged 10 and 11 must be accompanied by an adult using the gates at the same time.
Yes. Every traveller needs an ETA regardless of age, including babies, and each is linked to that person's own passport. A child cannot be added to a parent's application. Note that French children's passports are issued for five years rather than ten, so the ETA linked to one will expire sooner than an adult's.
Only for courses lasting up to six months, which covers short language programmes and summer schools. An academic year, an exchange running beyond six months, or a full degree requires a Student visa applied for before travel. You cannot switch to a Student visa from within the UK after arriving on an ETA.
No. The ETA is tied to the specific passport number you applied with and becomes invalid when that passport is replaced. There is no transfer process and no refund. If your passport is approaching its expiry date, renew it first and then apply for the ETA against the new number.
Yes. A single ETA covers the entire United Kingdom and is also accepted for Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. There are no internal immigration checks between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so a trip combining London and Edinburgh needs only one authorisation.
Your nationality is already set to France. Complete the form in under ten minutes, and our team will check every detail before it reaches the Home Office.
Other nationalities
Requirements, routes and border formalities differ by passport. Here are the guides for other eligible nationalities.
