Mexican passport holders have needed a UK ETA since January 2025. Two years of validity, multiple entries, up to six months in Britain per visit — applied for online in minutes.
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
Mexico is the largest source of Latin American visitors to Britain, and the traffic has grown steadily as direct services between Mexico City and London have expanded. Mexican students, business travellers and tourists all make the journey in significant numbers, and the cultural and commercial links between the two countries — particularly in energy, finance and higher education — have deepened considerably over the past decade.
Since January 2025 that journey has required an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Mexico remains firmly a non-visa country for UK purposes and nothing about what Mexican citizens may do in Britain has changed — the ETA is a digital pre-travel permission applied for online and attached to the passport number. It simply has to be obtained before departure.
The mechanics are quick and will feel broadly familiar to anyone who has dealt with electronic travel authorisations elsewhere. The application takes about ten minutes, is usually decided within them, and produces no document — the authorisation lives digitally against your passport number. British Airways and Aeroméxico both check it before boarding, and a passenger without one is refused at the gate rather than dealt with on arrival.
At a glance
Eligibility
You do not need a visa, but you do need an ETA. Mexico is a non-visa national country for UK purposes, so Mexican citizens travel to Britain as visitors for tourism, family visits, business, conferences or short courses without any consular application. The ETA precedes that permission and does not reduce it — the six months Mexican visitors have always been allowed is unchanged.
Every traveller needs their own, at any age. Children and infants need an ETA linked to their own passport and cannot be added to a parent's application. Mexican families travelling together — often for a graduation or to settle a student into a British university — need a separate authorisation for each person.
The exemptions are the standard ones. Mexican citizens holding a UK visa or indefinite leave to remain do not need an ETA, since their existing status already carries the permission. This is relevant for the substantial Mexican student population in Britain, who travel on their Student visa rather than an ETA.
Mexican passport holders are not in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen by a Border Force officer at a staffed desk on arrival. The ETA is identical to any other and carries the same permission — only the arrival experience differs, so allow a little extra time during busy arrival periods at Heathrow. Note too that a great many Mexicans hold a Spanish or Italian passport through descent, and travelling on that would give access to the automated gates.
Stay & validity
An approved ETA is valid for two years from the date it is granted, or until your Mexican passport expires, whichever comes first. Within that window there is no limit on entries, and each visit can last up to six months. For families with a child studying in Britain, two years of multiple-entry validity covers a substantial part of a degree's worth of visits.
The passport-expiry rule is the one to check first, and it deserves particular attention in Mexico. Mexican passports are issued for three, six or ten years depending on what the applicant chooses and pays for, so many travellers hold a shorter document than they realise. The ETA ends when the passport does, so a three-year passport two years into its life produces a one-year ETA. Renewal voids it with no transfer and no refund.
Britain does not require six months of onward passport validity, only that the passport covers your stay. Mexican travellers are used to stricter requirements elsewhere and sometimes over-prepare, which is harmless — but the British rule is simply that the document remains valid while you are there.
Six months per visit is the maximum for a single entry rather than an annual allowance. It matters most for Mexican students: a short language course or summer programme finishing within six months is covered by an ETA, while a foundation year, an academic year or a full degree requires a Student visa applied for from Mexico before travel. That route cannot be taken up from within the UK after arriving as a visitor.
Pricing
Live fees for Mexican passport holders, shown all-in — the Home Office charge and our service fee together, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Mexico
Requirements
Everything Mexican 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 Mexico are decided automatically in the great 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 or a name has not been entered exactly as printed.
Apply at least a week before travelling. The buffer exists so that a mistyped passport number or a rejected photograph can be corrected without a second payment, not because the decision itself is slow.
Two periods deserve more lead time. The British university intake in September and the Semana Santa and Christmas holiday periods all generate heavy travel with full flights and expensive fares. And the time difference — Mexico City is six or seven hours behind London depending on the season — means an evening departure from Mexico lands in the British small hours, when nothing can be escalated if a problem emerges at check-in.
On arrival
An approved ETA gets you on the plane. This is what happens once you land, and how to make the arrival as quick as possible.
Your nationality is not currently in the ePassport gate cohort, so you join the queue for a staffed desk on arrival. Your ETA is exactly the same document and carries exactly the same permission — only the arrival process differs.
The officer may ask where you are staying, how long you intend to remain and how the trip is funded. Having your hotel booking, return ticket and, if you are visiting family, their address to hand makes this a thirty-second conversation.
Desk queues at Heathrow can be long at peak arrival banks, particularly early morning. If you are connecting onward to a domestic or European flight, allow more than the airline's minimum connection time.
Unlike the automated gates, a staffed desk stamps your passport with the date of entry. That stamp is your evidence of when your six-month permission began, so do not let it be obscured or removed.
Getting there
Mexico City has direct service to London with both British Airways and Aeroméxico, and Cancún has seasonal links driven by British tourism to the Riviera Maya. Most other Mexican cities connect through Mexico City, a US hub or a European gateway such as Madrid or Paris.
Best time to go
Mexican visitors encounter a climate that varies enormously by where they start. Travellers from Mexico City, at high altitude and temperate year-round, will find British summers comparable and British winters much colder and darker. Those from Cancún, Guadalajara or Monterrey will find Britain markedly cooler in every season. The long northern summer evening — daylight past ten at night in Scotland — is a novelty for everyone.
May, June and September are the strongest months for weather and value together. All three sit below the July and August peak in British prices, and September benefits from the end of the British school holidays while the weather in the south often holds into October.
The Mexican calendar creates some useful windows. Semana Santa in March or April is a peak outbound period with high fares, but it often lands outside the British peak and delivers a mild, uncrowded Britain — the two partly offset. The July and August school holidays overlap exactly with the British peak, which is the worst combination of the year for price and crowds.
One practical note. Mexico City is six hours behind London during British Summer Time and seven in winter, and Mexico's own daylight saving arrangements have changed in recent years. Do not assume a fixed offset — check the actual local times on your itinerary, particularly if you have a connection beyond London.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from Mexico — we check for every one of them before submitting.
Mexican passports are issued for three, six or ten years depending on what the applicant paid for, and many travellers hold a shorter document than they assume. The ETA expires when the passport does, so a three-year passport two years into its life produces a one-year ETA. Check the expiry page before applying rather than after.
Mexican passports print both surnames, and the ETA must match the machine-readable zone exactly. Entering only the paternal surname — the form many Mexicans use abroad — creates a mismatch between the authorisation and the passport that an airline check can flag at the departure gate.
Mexican passport holders are not currently in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen by a Border Force officer at a staffed desk on arrival. The ETA is exactly the same document and carries the same permission — only the arrival process differs. If you also hold a Spanish or Italian passport, travelling on that gives automated gate access.
Britain is a popular destination for Mexican university study, and the ETA permits study of up to six months only. A foundation year, an academic year or a full degree requires a Student visa applied for from Mexico before travel. It cannot be arranged from within the UK after arriving on an ETA.
Mexico's daylight saving arrangements have changed in recent years, and Britain's differ in any case. The offset between Mexico City and London is not constant, so check the actual local times on your itinerary rather than assuming — particularly on connections beyond London.
Mexican students in Britain hold a Student visa, which already carries permission to travel. A student returning to the UK after a holiday at home does not need an ETA. Check the visa before paying for an application you do not need.
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 Mexico City, but it plays no part in issuing an ETA. The application is completed online and decided digitally — there is no interview, no appointment and no passport submission. The embassy handles consular assistance, Student and Standard Visitor visa services where an ETA is not the right route, and support for applicants whose circumstances require a human decision.
FAQs
The questions Mexican passport holders ask most often about travelling to the United Kingdom.
No. Mexican citizens do not need a visa for tourism, business visits, short study or transit in the United Kingdom. Since January 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 usually approved the same day.
The ETA expires when the passport it is linked to expires. Mexican passports are issued for three, six or ten years depending on what was paid for, so many travellers hold a shorter document than they realise — a three-year passport two years into its life produces a one-year ETA. Check the expiry page before applying.
Yes. Mexican passports print both surnames, and the ETA must match the machine-readable zone at the bottom of your photo page exactly. Entering only the paternal surname creates a mismatch between the authorisation and the travel document, which the airline check can flag at the gate.
No. Mexican passport holders are not currently in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen by a Border Force officer at a staffed desk. If you also hold a Spanish or Italian passport through descent — as many Mexicans do — travelling on that would give you automated gate access, though you would still need an ETA.
Only for courses lasting up to six months, such as a language programme or a summer school. A foundation year, an academic year or a full degree requires a Student visa applied for from Mexico before travel. You cannot switch to a Student visa from within the UK after arriving on an ETA.
Up to six months per visit. The ETA is valid for two years, or until your Mexican passport expires if that is sooner, and permits unlimited entries within that period. Six months is a per-visit maximum rather than an annual allowance.
No. If you hold a valid Student visa, that already carries permission to travel and an ETA is neither required nor useful. Students returning to Britain after a holiday at home travel on their existing visa.
It varies. Mexico City is six hours behind London during British Summer Time and seven in winter, and Mexico's own daylight saving arrangements have changed in recent years. Do not assume a fixed offset — check the actual local times on your itinerary, particularly if you have a connection beyond London.
Yes. Every traveller needs an ETA regardless of age, including babies, and each is linked to that person's own passport. Children cannot be added to a parent's application, though a family's applications can all be prepared in one session.
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 the four nations, so a trip combining London and Edinburgh needs only one authorisation.
Your nationality is already set to Mexico. 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.
