UK ETA Portal Queues Users for Over 1 Hour as £20 Travel Permit Demand Surges
Updated
Updated · VisasNews · Jun 3
UK ETA Portal Queues Users for Over 1 Hour as £20 Travel Permit Demand Surges
3 articles · Updated · VisasNews · Jun 3
Summary
Wait times on the GOV.UK ETA portal topped one hour on June 3, with users seeing a “currently busy” message before they could start applications.
Heavy traffic also hit the UK ETA mobile app, even though Home Office guidance says most app applications normally receive an automatic decision within minutes.
No general outage had been officially declared, and GOV.UK pages remained live, still directing travelers to use either the app or the online form.
User reports on forums and Reddit said applications could not start or were stuck, echoing earlier congestion seen when the ETA was expanded to new nationalities.
The £20 ETA is mandatory for many visa-exempt visitors and must be approved before boarding, prompting advice to apply well ahead of travel.