Electronic Travel Application for England

You could try applying on the website instead. https://apply-for-an-eta.homeoffice.gov.uk/apply/electronic-travel-authorisation/how-to-apply

As you have applied twice I would persist in contacting the ministry for clarification. Note you must do this during their business hours, so do some time zone adjustments before you try to use the chat function. Best of luck.

Did you enter your information manually or were you able to scan the chip in your passport successfully?

Are you absolutely sure that all information was provided correctly; eg, passport number, date of expiration, etc.?

And of course, most of EU wants DD/MM/YY instead of MM/DD/YY so double check that...

I applied for myself via the app. It went very smoothly and I got the approval notification within 30 minutes via email. When you do it through the app it's interactive and you just focus on your passport and then on yourself for the selfie photo and it helps you hone in on the right angle and exposure.

Then I tried to apply for my 85 year old mother via the app. We'd get as far as the passport scan and every time (a week of trying) it would then crap out and say "resubmit or try again later". We both got our most recent passports in early 2020 so they have the chip. Finally I decided to use the website application instead of the app for her. This is a harder way to do it because you need to upload a photo of the info page of the passport and then upload a selfie photo that meets their specifications. You'd think that would be easy but you have to get that photo precisely correct to satisfy them. On about the fifth photo we finally succeeded. So she has her ETA now, but it was quite a hassle.

When you say "rejected" do you mean you were not able to successfully submit the application, or do you mean you submitted, and the application was declined? I was just a bit confused by your reference to having paid.

Assuming it's the former, then I'd also suggest applying via the web site- I found it very easy, and didn't have a problem with the picture. If it's the latter, you'll need to speak to the Home Office via the web chat to find out why.

I have now submitted a 3rd request. This time on the website. Tha application was again accepted and paid for and again it was rejected. This is getting ridiculous. The chat suggestion is to apply for the $127 visitor visa. Isn’t there a way to talk to a human there?

Have you used your passport before with no issues?

lowlyduane sorry you're having continued trouble but you should contact the UK ministry - it is highly unlikely someone in this forum can address your unique situation. I suggest you try using the general contact form (linked here) or try calling an embassy or consulate office in the US to ask for a more direct phone number: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-washington

The chat suggestion is to apply for the $127 visitor visa.

If you can’t get an ETA you won’t get a visa.

Are you using HM Government’s website?

If you can’t get an ETA you won’t get a visa.

Actually, that is the recommended process. Basically you apply with information about your situation, and a higher authority makes a decision on whether to issue a visa. Basically the first process just flags potential issues, done by employees with little authority and strict rules/process, the second process digs into the case.

For example, if you had an old conviction for something, but have met all restitution, they may decide you pose no risk, and grant a visa. You hear about this from time to time, both for entry to the US and UK, with well known people (and others) and a minor drug possession charge.

Unfortunately all you can do is follow the advice you've been given by the Home Office. For some reason, your application has been declined, and doing it again isn't going to help.

By "plane Jane all American" am I correct in assuming you didn't have any convictions to declare, and no previous issues with UK immigration?

Each application that flags up concerns is reviewed by a Home Office decision maker. This is what the official guidance says:

"There is no right to administrative review or appeal against a decision made on an ETA application."

This is the official guidance:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c5928b68a61757838d21a2/Electronic+Travel+Authorisation+Guidance.pdf

.

ETA decision: review and appeals
There is no right to administrative review or appeal against a decision made on an
ETA application.
Article 22(3) of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the
Council provides applicants with the right to human intervention to review a decision
that has been made through a fully automated process. This provision is
supplemented by section 14 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Applicants who have been granted an ETA via a solely automated process will have
one calendar month from the date of a grant decision to request a review of this
decision by a decision maker. If the Home Office confirm the grant was issued by a
fully automated process the decision will be reviewed.
A decision to reject or refuse an application will not be automated. The right to
review under Article 22(3) therefore does not apply to any applicants that have been
rejected or refused as such decisions will always be made by a human decision
maker.
(From the link provided by Simon)

I find it odd there is a means to request a a 'review' for an application that has been accepted ( why would someone want to do that?), but a rejection seems to have no straightforward way to find out the reason for the rejection.

Hopefully OP can get some answers/help from a UK Embassy/Consulate in his area

It is a bit odd, but the EU law allows only for an appeal where the decision is fully automated. The decision to grant an ETA is fully automated, but the decision to refuse one involves manual intervention and therefore is outside the scope of the EU law. Basically a long-winded way of saying you can't appeal.

"Hopefully OP can get some answers/help from a UK Embassy/Consulate in his area"

They will likely just refer the OP to the Home Office web chat - visa processing is centralised.

The OP is best to follow the the advice from the web chat and apply online for a visitor visa, which is £127, not $ like they've quoted, so more like $182.

Have you checked that your passport hasn't been reported as stolen? Obviously you have it but if there was a data entry error at some point, your passport may have gotten on a list of stolen passports.

Is there any chance there is a problem with your payment actually being accepted? Are you being denied almost instantly or is it taking more then a few hours?