Anyone have difficulty trying to use the UK ETA app recently? We are flying next weekend and I can't get the app to work. I managed to get through to taking my own picture but then it said you can't use the app. Same thing happened last weekend, so I'm wondering if it's me. I'm using an Android phone. (Pixel) When I hit the failure point it says apply online but when I try to apply online via the link it says use the new app!! And I can't seem to get it to work online because it keeps saying use the app. Note I do have a valid biometric passport, I got to the point where it successfully read my chip. (Also, I've had that passport for 6 years and I had no idea it had a chip!)
Posted by
Chicago
8382 posts
My phone was incompatible so I use the online version on a laptop desktop it took two hours in the queue and then I filled it out within the 25 minutes alotted. I got the ETA approval about 6 hours later. Maybe you need to use a laptop and not your phone to use the online laptop desktop version.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
9195 posts
Do switch to online site or borrow someone else's phone for the process.
This is a great example of why you want to do these things with plenty of lead time. You have time to come up with an alternative.
Posted by
Cornwall
692 posts
Use the website.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8286 posts
I recall a previous post on this forum by somebody who was trying to use the ETA app and it wasn’t functioning. The consensus of responses was to use the Website.
Earlier this month, both of us got our ETA’s thru the app, but its animated instructions weren’t always clear, and it took a while to get thru the process on the app.
Posted by
Portland, OR
399 posts
Carol now retired from Lynnwood, Washington posted very detailed instructions in November. Made our application very easy and approved in minutes.
Thanks Carol!
Posted by
OP
Nova Scotia, Canada
295 posts
Awesome tks folks. Honestly I thought it was cool when it actually read my passport...but then hung. I will try the website and ck for Carol's instructions also. Yep, got to get it done this weekend because I don't feel happy with it potentially taking 3 days to process. We did try last weekend, had the same result with the app and gave up.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3090 posts
You have to be persistent to reach the website application - they try to force you to use the app but there is always an "I can't use the app" choice on most of the pages (in very small type). Here is the direct link to the page you end up at to start the website process https://apply-for-an-eta.homeoffice.gov.uk/apply/electronic-travel-authorisation/how-to-apply
Definitely read the other threads in the forum about applying, most are under the England forum, but using the search bar will likely get you to them quicker.
Posted by
Singapore
771 posts
"I don't feel happy with it potentially taking 3 days to process'
Its an automated process (and therefore very quick) unless there is ann anomaly in your application that is flagged for review. I've done two and both were approved withn five minutes.
And to be clear, the requirement is that you must have applied, not that it mist have been approved
"If you need to travel soon
You must apply for an ETA before you travel to the UK. You can travel to the UK while waiting for a decision."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta
Posted by
OP
Nova Scotia, Canada
295 posts
Thank you all! We are ETA-approved. :) It worked on my dh's phone this evening, when it didn't earlier today. Ours is not to reason why... I was simultaneously doing it via web-browser and you are right, they do NOT want you to use the website! Guess they'd better upgrade that app...reminds me of all the fuss we went through with the ArriveCan app during covid (Canadian border control, like the MPC app in the states, but I believe it was primarily tracking covid test compliance and vaccination status). The app works well now, 4 years or so later, but it was a nightmare during the strange and scary days of the pandemic.
Posted by
Narberth, PA
1307 posts
Hi. I used the website last weekend, and I was approved before I completed the customer satisfaction survey after submitting. While there are about 3 pages of info asking you to use the app, persevere and keep going to the next page - say your phone is not compatible. Eventually, you will get to the actual online application on a page called How to Apply with 5 steps listed. From there, it is very simple.
I also paid to get a digital photo done at Staples. They give it to you on a usb. They will ask if this is for a US passport, but if you tell them for UK ETA, they can make sure they are following all the directions as that is in their system too. Originally, I tried to take a photo with my phone, but there were too many shadows, etc. The Staples digital jpeg worked great. I know Staples may not be everywhere, but maybe you have an equivalent service near you?
I also made sure the scanned version of my passport is a jpeg. Originally, I had it in a pdf, and it was denied the first time I tried to upload. I rescanned it as a jpeg, and it uploaded smoothly from there.
The approval is linked to the digital codes on your passport, however, following recommendations of other folks on this forum, I printed out a copy of the approval email to have a print copy with my passport - just covering all possibilities should someone want physical proof.
BTW, there are many websites that purport to do this process for you - the options can look very confusing. You want the Gov.uk website - which you may already know from trying to use the app - but just in case.
I hope it works for you. One last thing - the customer satisfaction survey asks why you used the online application. You get a chance to give feedback. I just found it easier. Best of luck, Debbie