UK ETA for Lorry & HGV Drivers 2026: Who Needs One?

Lorry, HGV and coach drivers who hold a visa-free passport need a UK ETA to cross the border, and driving goods or passengers on a genuine international route counts as a permitted visitor activity. The £20 authorisation is valid for two years and covers unlimited trips, which suits drivers who run the Channel routes week in, week out.

TL;DR: A UK ETA costs £20, stays valid for two years and allows unlimited entries, which makes it a good fit for professional drivers. It lets you deliver or collect goods and drop off or pick up passengers, but it does not allow UK-based employment. British and Irish drivers do not need one. Apply once at gov.uk/eta and reuse it for every crossing.

Quick Facts for Drivers	详情 (2026)
UK ETA费用	£20 per driver, non-refundable
有效性	2 years, or until the passport expires
参赛作品	Unlimited, up to 6 months per visit
Allowed work	International haulage and coach routes (permitted activity)
Not allowed	UK-based employment or unlimited domestic cabotage

Whether you run refrigerated loads to Dover or drive tour coaches into London, the sections below cover who needs an ETA, what you can legally do on one and how to apply quickly. See also our ETA exemptions list 和 谁需要UK ETA.

Do lorry and HGV drivers need a UK ETA?

Yes. A driver from a visa-free country needs an ETA to enter the UK, just like any other traveller, unless they are British, Irish or already hold UK immigration status. Every visa-free visitor, EU nationals included, must now have permission to travel before boarding a ferry or the shuttle (Home Office ETA factsheet, April 2026). The route makes no difference: Dover–Calais, the Eurotunnel shuttle at Folkestone and the Harwich ferry all require the same authorisation.

For haulage firms, the cost works out well. One ETA costs £20 and is valid for two years across unlimited crossings. A driver running 40 return trips a year pays the same £20 as a tourist on a single holiday. A 标准访客签证 costs £135 (since 8 April 2026), so the ETA saves both money and time.

Fleet tip: Apply for each driver’s ETA well before their next scheduled crossing. One approval covers two years, so build it into onboarding rather than leaving it to the driver the night before a Calais run.

What can you do as a driver on a UK ETA?

An ETA lets you enter as a visitor to carry out permitted activities, and international transport work is one of them — you may bring goods to the UK, collect goods to take abroad, and operate scheduled or occasional coach services. These activities are set out in the immigration rules (Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities). The key word is international: your journey must start or end outside the UK.

What the ETA does not cover:

• UK employment: you cannot take a job with a UK-based operator on an ETA.
• Unlimited domestic work: purely internal UK haulage beyond cabotage allowances needs the right immigration status.
• Stays over six months: each visit is capped at six months, though few drivers get near that.

For example, a Polish coach driver based in Kraków brings a school group to London for four days, then drives them home. That trip is a textbook permitted activity — international route, temporary visit, group returns abroad. He needs an ETA, not a work visa. A driver who moved to Birmingham to work for a UK firm would need something else entirely.

The line matters most when a job blurs the two. Say a Dutch haulier drops a load in Manchester, then picks up a domestic UK delivery to run down to Bristol before heading back to Rotterdam. A limited amount of that “cabotage” attaches to the international journey and is fine; turning it into weeks of purely UK work is not. If your operation leans heavily on internal UK movements, get proper immigration advice rather than relying on visitor rules. The ETA is designed for drivers whose work is genuinely cross-border, and the vast majority of Channel and North Sea routes fit that description without any trouble.

Which drivers are exempt from the UK ETA?

British and Irish citizens never need an ETA, and neither do drivers who already hold UK immigration status such as settled status or a work visa. The Common Travel Area keeps Irish drivers free of the requirement (Common Travel Area guidance). Everyone else from a visa-free country needs one before travelling.

Driver	ETA needed?
Irish citizen	No — Common Travel Area
EU/EEA national (visa-free)	Yes — £20 ETA
Holds UK work visa or settled status	No — travel on that status
Visa-national driver	No ETA — needs the correct visa

Not sure which box you fall into? The official 检查您是否需要英国签证 tool settles it in a minute, and our UK ETA或签证指南 explains the difference between the two. The ETA is tied to the passport you apply with. Drivers who hold two passports must travel on the one carrying the ETA, or the airline and port staff will not find a valid authorisation against the document they scan. Pick one passport for your UK crossings and stick with it for the full two years.

Prefer not to fill in the form alone? We can check your answers for common errors before your application is submitted.

How drivers apply for a UK ETA

Apply online at gov.uk or in the UK ETA app, scan your passport, pay £20 and wait for the email. Most drivers are approved within minutes, though the Home Office asks you to allow three working days. You can do it from the cab or the depot: there is no appointment and no biometrics beyond a photo.

1. Use the official service only. 前往 gov.uk/eta and ignore lookalike sites — our fake ETA website guide shows the warning signs.
2. 扫描您的护照。 The app can read the chip, but a chipped passport is not required; confirm the details are right.
3. Answer the short questions. Purpose of travel, contact details, a photo. See the 文件检查清单.
4. 付款并提交。 For a whole team, our 费用明细 helps you budget.
5. Keep the confirmation. The ETA links to the passport digitally; there is nothing to print, but note the expiry date.

Plan ahead. Our 时间指南 explains why leaving a buffer beats a last-minute application, and the full 申请指南 covers every field.

我们是独立协助服务,不是英国政府。您可以直接在以下平台申请 gov.uk for £20, or use our check-and-support service if you would rather not fill in the form alone.

Practical tips for professional drivers

• Track expiry dates centrally. Two years passes quickly; a spreadsheet of driver ETA expiries avoids a stranded lorry at the port.
• Renew a passport early. The ETA dies with the passport, so a new passport means a new ETA — see our 要求指南.
• Know your route rules. Transit and mixed routes have quirks — our 过境规则 和 Channel Tunnel guide help.
• Stay inside permitted activities. Delivering and collecting is fine, but taking a UK payroll job is not. Check business activities allowed on an ETA.

Not sure your situation is straightforward? Our team reviews your details before you pay and flags anything that could cause a delay — handy if forms make you nervous.

常见问题

Do HGV drivers from the EU need a UK ETA in 2026?

Yes. EU and other visa-free drivers need a £20 ETA before entering the UK. It lasts two years and covers unlimited crossings, so most drivers apply once and reuse it.

Can I do haulage work in the UK on an ETA?

You can carry out international haulage — bringing goods in and taking goods out. You cannot take UK-based employment or unlimited domestic cabotage on an ETA. Those need the correct immigration status.

How much does a driver’s UK ETA cost?

£20 per driver. The fee rose from £16 to £20 on 8 April 2026. Because it lasts two years, the cost per crossing is tiny for regular drivers.

Do coach and bus drivers need an ETA too?

Yes, if they are visa-free nationals. Operating scheduled or occasional coach services on international routes is a permitted activity, so an ETA is the right document for most tour and school-trip drivers.

Are Irish drivers exempt from the UK ETA?

Yes. Irish citizens travel under the Common Travel Area and never need an ETA. British citizens and drivers with UK immigration status are also exempt.

How long does driver ETA approval take?

Most decisions arrive within minutes, but allow the full three working days the Home Office quotes. Apply before the next scheduled crossing to be safe.

Does the ETA need renewing for every trip?

No. One ETA covers unlimited entries for two years or until the passport expires. You only reapply when it expires or you get a new passport.

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Last updated: 2026-07-09 — verified against gov.uk schedule.