Staytill

How long can I stay in the UK?

Destination · EuropeChecked Updated

The UK has its own count, outside Schengen, and since early this year it has a gate in front of it. Americans now apply for an ETA before they fly, and one ETA covers two years of visits.

UK

As a visitor
6months per visit

As a standard visitor you can usually stay in the UK for up to 6 months.1

What it covers
Standard visitors can come for tourism, business, study on courses up to 6 months, and other permitted activities.2
ETA cost
An ETA costs £20, online or through the UK ETA app.3
ETA lasts
An ETA lasts 2 years, or until your passport expires if that comes sooner.4

Who needs an ETA

US passport

Since 25 February 2026, visitors of 85 nationalities, including Americans, Canadians and the French, must hold an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to travel to the UK.56

British or Irish passport

British and Irish citizens, dual citizens included, are exempt.7

Staying past six months

The six months is a ceiling per visit, and going past it is narrow. If your permission is for less than 6 months, you may be able to extend your stay up to a total of 6 months.8 Applying to stay longer than 6 months is limited to listed cases, such as a patient receiving medical treatment.9

Worked example

One ETA, two years of visits

  1. You get an ETA on 1 March 2027 and your passport is valid to 2035: it lasts until 1 March 2029.4How we count: Two years from 1 March 2027; the passport outlasts it, so the passport does not cut it short.
  2. Each trip on that ETA can last up to 6 months.10
  3. You must show you will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK your main home.11

Questions people ask

Does a UK ETA cover Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man?

An ETA lets you travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to 6 months.10

What happens if I overstay in the UK?

Overstaying your permission counts as a breach of immigration laws, and a later application may be refused for it.1213 An overstay of 30 days or less is disregarded if it began on or after 6 April 2017 and you left the UK voluntarily at your own expense.1415

Do days in the UK count toward Schengen?

29 countries share the count: 25 EU members, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.16

Your own count

The per-visit limit is easy to see. The pattern across visits is what an officer weighs, and a dated list of your stays is how you see it too.

Staytill, the iPhone app that counts your days in the UK and how many you have left How long can you stay in the UK as a visitor? The UK starts enforcing travel authorisations

Sources

4 laws and 12 official pages, each with its exact words
  1. GOV.UK, Standard Visitor · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words You can usually stay in the UK for up to 6 months.
  2. GOV.UK, Standard Visitor · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words You can visit the UK as a Standard Visitor for tourism, business, study (courses up to 6 months) and other permitted activities.
  3. GOV.UK, ETA · UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK) · read 26 Oct 2026 · Being rechecked
    Exact words It costs £20 to apply online or through the UK ETA app.
  4. GOV.UK, ETA · UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK) · read 26 Oct 2026 · Being rechecked
    Exact words An ETA lasts for 2 years or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner.
  5. GOV.UK, UK enforces digital permission to travel · UK Government (GOV.UK news, 24 February 2026) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words From today (25 February), it will be mandatory for visitors to the UK to have obtained digital permission to travel.
  6. GOV.UK, who needs an ETA · UK Government (GOV.UK news, 24 February 2026) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words Visitors of 85 nationalities, including nationals of the United States, Canada and France, are now legally required to have an ETA when travelling to the UK.
  7. GOV.UK, ETA exemptions · UK Government (GOV.UK news, 24 November 2025) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words British and Irish citizens, including dual citizens, are exempt from needing an ETA.
  8. GOV.UK, Standard Visitor: extend your stay · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words You may be able to extend your stay if you have permission to be in the UK for less than 6 months. You can extend your stay up to a total of 6 months.
  9. GOV.UK, Standard Visitor: extend your stay · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words You can only apply to stay in the UK for longer than 6 months if you're:
  10. GOV.UK, ETA · UK Visas and Immigration (GOV.UK) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words An electronic travel authorisation (ETA) lets you travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to 6 months.
  11. GOV.UK, Standard Visitor · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words you'll not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK your main home
  12. Immigration Rules, SUI 11.4 · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words An applicant will be treated as having breached immigration laws if, aged 18 or over, they: (a) overstayed their permission
  13. Immigration Rules, SUI 11.3 · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words An application for entry clearance or permission may be refused where the applicant is, or has been, in breach of immigration laws
  14. Immigration Rules, SUI 11.5 · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words the person overstayed for 30 days or less, where the overstaying began on or after 6 April 2017
  15. Immigration Rules, SUI 11.5 · GOV.UK, UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words where the person left the UK voluntarily, not at the expense (directly or indirectly) of the Secretary of State
  16. European Commission, Schengen area · European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words The Schengen area is composed of 29 countries: 25 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein)
Checked against Immigration Rules, Part Suitability on 25 Oct 2026 Updated 26 Oct 2026 Being rechecked

Know a rule that changed, or a line we got wrong? Send us the source. We fix the page and log it.

Report a mistake