Taiwanese 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
Taiwan's passport is one of the strongest in Asia, and Britain has long been among the destinations that make it so. Taiwanese travellers have visited the UK visa-free for years, and the connection is sustained by a substantial student population at British universities, strong technology and manufacturing links, and a steady leisure flow drawn to Britain's literary and historical landscape.
Since January 2025 that journey has required an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Taiwan remains firmly a non-visa territory for UK purposes and nothing about what Taiwanese 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.
One eligibility detail matters here more than in most markets. The visa-free arrangement applies to Taiwanese passports that include a national identity card number. A Taiwan passport issued without one — held by some overseas Chinese and by Taiwanese nationals without household registration — is not covered, and those holders need a Standard Visitor visa instead. Check the identity number is printed on your passport before applying.
At a glance
Eligibility
You do not need a visa, but you do need an ETA. Taiwan is a non-visa territory for UK purposes, so Taiwanese citizens travel to Britain as visitors for tourism, family visits, business, conferences or short courses without a consular application. The ETA precedes that permission and does not reduce it — the six months Taiwanese visitors have always been allowed is unchanged.
The visa-free arrangement depends on your passport containing a national identity card number. Passports issued to Taiwanese nationals without household registration do not carry one, and their holders are not covered — they need a Standard Visitor visa applied for weeks in advance with a biometric appointment. This is the first thing to verify, before booking anything.
Every traveller needs their own ETA, at any age. Children and infants need one linked to their own passport and cannot be added to a parent's application. Taiwanese families visiting a child studying in Britain — a very common trip — need a separate authorisation for each person travelling.
Taiwanese 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.
Stay & validity
An approved ETA is valid for two years from the date it is granted, or until your Taiwanese passport expires, whichever comes first. Within that window there is no limit on entries, and each visit can last up to six months. For parents visiting a child at a British university, two years of multiple-entry validity comfortably covers a degree's worth of visits.
The passport-expiry rule is the one to check first. The ETA is bound to the passport number you enter and ends when that document does. Taiwanese passports are issued for ten years for adults and five for children under fourteen, so families applying together may find the children's authorisations expiring well before the parents'. Renewal does not transfer the ETA and there is no refund.
Britain does not require six months of onward passport validity, only that the passport covers your stay. Taiwanese travellers are used to the six-month rule applied across much of Asia and often over-prepare, which is harmless — but the British requirement 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 Taiwanese students: a short English 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 Taiwan before travel. That route cannot be taken up from within the UK.
Pricing
Live fees for Taiwanese passport holders, shown all-in — the Home Office charge and our service fee together, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Taiwan
Requirements
Everything Taiwanese 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 Taiwan 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.
Apply at least a week before travelling. Taiwanese travellers tend to plan carefully and book early, which works in their favour — the sensible moment is when the flights are confirmed. The buffer exists so that a mistyped passport number or a rejected photograph can be corrected without a second payment.
Two things deserve earlier attention. Verify that your passport carries a national identity card number, since the alternative route takes several weeks rather than minutes. And note the time difference: Taipei is eight hours ahead of Britain in winter and seven in summer, so a problem discovered at Taoyuan check-in falls in the middle of the British night when nothing can be escalated.
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
Taipei has direct service to London with China Airlines and EVA Air, and since airlines began avoiding Russian airspace the flight has lengthened but frequency has held. The Gulf and European carriers offer extensive one-stop alternatives that are often cheaper and not much slower.
Best time to go
Taiwanese visitors arrive from a subtropical climate into a temperate one, and the contrast is sharpest in summer. A British July is dramatically cooler and less humid than a Taipei July, which is much of the appeal, and the long northern evening — daylight past ten at night in Scotland — is a genuine novelty for visitors from a place where the light fades early year-round.
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 Taiwanese calendar creates useful windows. Chinese New Year in January or February is a peak outbound period with high fares, but it lands in Britain's cheapest and quietest season, so the two partly offset. The typhoon season from July to September is a further argument for travelling then, and the autumn is Taiwan's own best weather — a reason to go to Britain in spring instead.
One practical note. Taiwan is eight hours ahead of Britain in winter and seven during British Summer Time, since Taiwan does not change its clocks. The difference therefore shifts twice a year, which catches out travellers with tight connections 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 Taiwan — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The visa-free arrangement applies to Taiwanese passports that include a national identity card number. Passports issued to nationals without household registration do not carry one, and their holders need a Standard Visitor visa applied for weeks in advance instead. Check the passport before booking — this is the most consequential detail on this page.
Taiwanese 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. Allow extra time at Heathrow during busy arrival periods.
The ETA must match the Roman-letter name in the machine-readable zone of the passport exactly, including hyphens in a romanised given name. Taiwanese romanisation admits several systems, and travellers sometimes enter the version they use professionally rather than the one printed. A mismatch can be flagged at the gate.
Taiwan does not change its clocks, so the difference with Britain is eight hours in winter and seven during British Summer Time. Travellers who assume a constant offset misread connection times, particularly on itineraries continuing beyond London.
Britain is a popular destination for Taiwanese 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 Taiwan before travel. It cannot be arranged from within the UK after arriving on an ETA.
Some Taiwanese credit and debit cards issued for domestic use will decline an online international payment in pounds sterling. Use a Visa or Mastercard you have already used successfully for overseas purchases, and check that international transactions are enabled.
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's representation in Taiwan is provided by the British Office Taipei. It plays no part in issuing an ETA — the application is completed online and decided digitally, with no interview, no appointment and no passport submission. The office handles consular assistance, visa services where an ETA is not the appropriate route, and support for applicants whose circumstances require a human decision.
FAQs
The questions Taiwanese passport holders ask most often about travelling to the United Kingdom.
No. Taiwanese citizens do not need a visa for tourism, business visits, short study or transit in the United Kingdom, provided their passport includes a national identity card number. Since January 2025 they do need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a digital permission linked to the passport rather than a visa.
No. The visa-free arrangement applies only to Taiwanese passports that include a national identity card number. Passports issued to nationals without household registration do not carry one, and their holders need a Standard Visitor visa applied for several weeks in advance with a biometric appointment. Check your passport before booking.
No. Taiwanese passport holders are not currently in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen by a Border Force officer at a staffed desk. Your ETA is exactly the same document and carries the same permission — only the arrival process differs, so allow a little extra time.
Use the Roman-letter spelling exactly as printed in the machine-readable zone at the bottom of your passport photo page, including hyphens where they appear in a romanised given name. Taiwanese romanisation admits several systems, so do not substitute a version you use professionally — a mismatch can be flagged at check-in.
Only for courses lasting up to six months, such as a short English programme or a summer school. A foundation year, an academic year or a full degree requires a Student visa applied for from Taiwan 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 Taiwanese 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.
Eight hours in winter and seven during British Summer Time, because Taiwan does not change its clocks. The difference therefore shifts twice a year. Check the actual local times on your itinerary rather than assuming a fixed offset, 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. Taiwanese passports for under-fourteens run for five years rather than ten, so check each expiry date.
At least a week, and ideally when the flights are booked. Most applications are approved within minutes, but Taipei is seven or eight hours ahead of Britain, so a problem discovered at Taoyuan check-in falls in the middle of the British night when nothing can be escalated.
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, Oxford and Edinburgh needs only one authorisation.
Your nationality is already set to Taiwan. 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.
