With just a few months to go before the full implementation of the electronic travel autorisation (ETA) program on February 25, 2026, the UK authorities have released new figures on the performance of this migration tool.
Between October 2023, when the system was first rolled out, and September 2025, a total of 19.6 million ETAs were issued. These authorisations apply to non-UK travelers who do not need a visa for short stays and who do not hold an immigration status in the United Kingdom.
In the single full year ending in September 2025, the country recorded 135.9 million arrivals, 56% of which were UK nationals. Among foreign travelers, the majority were short-term visitors, while entries for business, family, academic, or humanitarian reasons accounted for a smaller share.
Alongside the ETA system, 2.2 million visitor visas and 19,707 transit visas were issued, as well as 838,908 visas for purposes other than tourism.
UK ETA: the US leads, followed by major European countries
The data released today by London show a strong concentration of ETAs granted to just a handful of nationalities.
The United States ranks far ahead, with more than 4.6 million ETAs approved since 2023. U.S. nationals were able to access the system as early as November 2024, prior to its gradual expansion to all visa-exempt countries.
Completing the top three, Germany (nearly 2 million) and France (1.4 million) are among the main countries to have become eligible since April 2025, when the program was extended to all European nationals not subject to visas.
Overall, citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland account for 53% of all ETAs issued, confirming the importance of tourism and business travel between the continent and the United Kingdom.
Top 20 countries receiving the most ETAs
The ranking of nationalities that obtained the most ETAs between 2023 and 2025 has changed little compared with the statistics published in August 2025.
The Top 10 remains almost identical, dominated by the United States and major European countries, highlighting the stability of tourism and business flows to the UK since the launch of the ETA program.
| Rank | Country | Number of approved ETAs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 4,646,769 |
| 2 | Germany | 1,963,840 |
| 3 | France | 1,422,001 |
| 4 | Italy | 1,112,862 |
| 5 | Spain | 939,042 |
| 6 | Netherlands | 841,105 |
| 7 | Canada | 786,272 |
| 8 | Australia | 627,314 |
| 9 | Poland | 614,389 |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | 483,598 |
| 11 | Belgium | 372,066 |
| 12 | Sweden | 343,911 |
| 13 | Brazil | 336,896 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 329,184 |
| 15 | Norway | 304,563 |
| 16 | Romania | 285,850 |
| 17 | Japan | 244,419 |
| 18 | Denmark | 231,892 |
| 19 | Mexico | 226,469 |
| 20 | Austria | 214,852 |
A system ramping up ahead of full implementation in 2026
According to the UK government, the ETA is intended to modernize border controls, improve the management of travel flows, and increase visibility into traveler profiles before their arrival.
Similar to systems already in place in Canada or the United States, the ETA will become mandatory for all visa-exempt visitors starting in February 2026.
Until then, the authorities are continuing technical and administrative adjustments to the program, which is considered a key pillar of the UK’s strategy to strengthen border security while facilitating short-term travel. The coming months should provide a clearer indication of how this new tool will embed itself in the country’s long-term migration framework.
