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UK transit visa for Indians and other passports: DATV, ETA and exemptions

UK transit visa for Indians and other passports: when you need a £41.50 Direct Airside Transit visa or £74.50 Visitor in Transit visa, exemptions and ETA rules.

  • 17 min read
  • Published
  • Last reviewed
  • By Voyfaro

For: every passport

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A cheap fare from Delhi, Lagos, Manila or Johannesburg often connects through Heathrow or Manchester. Indian, Nigerian and South African travellers often ask whether they need a UK transit visa for that stop, and US travellers ask about the ETA. Whether you need a UK document for that stop depends on three things: your passport, whether you pass through UK border control, and which other visas or residence permits you hold. This guide explains each case with worked examples. Voyfaro does not issue visas or ETAs, so use the official GOV.UK checker before you book.

UK transit visa: the short answer

  • Airside means you change planes without passing through UK border control. Landside means you go through border control, for example to collect bags, change airport or stay overnight.
  • Direct Airside Transit visa: £41.50. Needed for airside transit by nationals on the UK’s transit visa list, which includes India, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa, unless they hold an exempt document.
  • Common exemptions: a valid US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand visa (for travel to any country), a US green card, a Canadian permanent resident card, or an EEA or Swiss residence permit.
  • Visitor in Transit visa: £74.50, for visa nationals who go through border control and leave within 48 hours. Some qualify for transit without a visa instead.
  • Philippine citizens: no UK visa for airside transit. Landside needs a visa unless an exemption applies.
  • US citizens and other ETA nationals: no ETA for airside transit. An ETA (£20) is needed if you pass through border control.
  • No transit visa needed if you already hold an ETA, a Standard Visitor visa, a Marriage Visitor visa, an EU Settlement Scheme family permit or a Home Office travel document.
  • The decider: GOV.UK’s Check if you need a UK visa tool. Choose “Transit”, your destination and whether you will pass through border control.

Who this applies to

This guide is for anyone changing planes at a UK airport on the way to another country, on a passport from the UK visa list (such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa or the Philippines) or the ETA list (such as the US). If the main purpose of your stop is to visit the UK, you need visit permission instead. See our UK ETA guide.

Your nationality decides the rule, not where you live, although some residence permits count as exemptions. Read passport vs residence visa rules for how this works more widely.

Airside or landside: which one are you?

The GOV.UK checker explains when you pass through border control. You always pass through it if you:

  • leave the main airport building for any reason
  • need to collect your bags and check them in for your onward flight

You also pass through it if your onward flight leaves on a different calendar day from your arrival and there is nowhere to stay overnight inside the airport, such as a transit hotel. If your passport is on the UK visa list, an overnight airside stay may still not work: see the airline conditions under the DATV exemptions below.

The Home Office’s guidance for carriers adds that changing airports, for example from Heathrow to Gatwick, is landside, and that airside transit is available only where an airport offers it. The Home Office’s ETA factsheet names only Heathrow and Manchester for airside transit. If you connect at another UK airport, ask your airline whether you can stay airside. You cannot transit airside to Ireland or elsewhere in the Common Travel Area. If you are not sure, GOV.UK says to ask your airline.

Direct Airside Transit visa: who needs one

A DATV is required by nationals of the countries listed in Schedule 1 of the Immigration (Passenger Transit Visa) Order 2014, as amended. On 6 October 2026 the list included, among others, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, China and Türkiye (Turkey). The Philippines was not on it. Because the list changes, check your own passport in the GOV.UK checker rather than relying on any copy, including this one.

The DATV costs £41.50, which GOV.UK says “may change slightly” depending on where you apply. It does not let you enter the UK: the Home Office caseworker guidance says it is not entry clearance.

DATV exemptions, as GOV.UK lists them

The GOV.UK checker says you do not need a DATV if you have one of the following:

  • a visa for Canada, New Zealand, Australia or the USA. GOV.UK says this “can be used for travel to any country”, so you do not have to be flying there
  • a permanent resident visa issued by Australia or New Zealand
  • a common format residence permit issued by a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
  • a permanent resident card issued by Canada on or after 28 June 2002
  • a uniform format category D visa for entry into an EEA country or Switzerland
  • an Irish biometric visa marked “BC” or “BC BIVS” in the Remarks section
  • a Schengen Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) group tourism visa, if you are travelling to a Schengen country
  • a flight ticket from the Schengen area, if you can prove you entered the Schengen area in the previous 30 days on a valid Schengen ADS visa
  • a valid US I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa (a wet-ink stamp version is not accepted)
  • a valid US permanent residence card (green card) issued on or after 21 April 1998
  • an expired US I-551 permanent residence card issued on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising an extension
  • a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B, attached to a sealed brown envelope

GOV.UK adds two conditions. All visas and residence permits must be valid. E-visas and e-residence permits are not accepted unless your airline can verify them with the country that issued them. If your exempt visa is electronic, check with your airline before you fly.

The Home Office guidance for airlines adds that to transit airside without a visa, you must also arrive and depart by air, have a confirmed onward flight leaving the same day from the same airport, and hold the documents for your destination. For an overnight connection, confirm with your airline before you book.

The law behind this list (Article 4 of the 2014 Order) adds a few cases, such as Indian diplomatic or official passports, South African diplomatic passports, and an expired Australian, Canadian, New Zealand or US visa if you are travelling from that country and last entered it on a valid visa less than 6 months ago. The same law says Syrian citizens cannot use a US B1 or B2 visa as an exemption. If you rely on one of these cases, confirm it with your airline.

Note: an ordinary Schengen short-stay visa is not on the GOV.UK list.

Visitor in Transit visa and transit without a visa

If you pass through border control and your nationality needs a UK visa, GOV.UK says you may need a Visitor in Transit visa. It costs £74.50. To use it, you must:

  • be changing flights in the UK on the way to another country
  • leave the UK within 48 hours
  • not work or study in the UK

This also applies to visa nationals who do not need a DATV, such as Philippine citizens. If you need to stay longer than 48 hours, or pass through the UK often over more than 6 months, GOV.UK says to apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead.

The Transit Without Visa (TWOV) scheme

Some visa nationals can go through border control without a transit visa. The GOV.UK checker says you may be eligible if you:

  • arrive and depart by air
  • have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after
  • have the right documents for your destination, for example a visa for that country

You must also do one of these:

  • travel to or from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA (or on part of a reasonable journey to or from one) with a valid visa for that country, or come from one of them less than 6 months after you last entered it on a valid visa
  • hold an Australian, New Zealand or Canadian (issued on or after 28 June 2002) permanent residence permit, or one of the US permanent residence documents listed above
  • hold an EEA or Swiss common format residence permit, or a category D visa for an EEA country or Switzerland
  • hold an Irish biometric visa (BC or BC BIVS) and travel on to Ireland, or come from Ireland within 3 months of being admitted there on that visa

Unlike the airside rule, a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand visa helps landside only if you travel to or from that country. E-visas and e-residence permits are not accepted. A Border Force officer decides whether you qualify, so GOV.UK suggests applying for a transit visa if you are unsure.

The Home Office’s transit caseworker guidance (25 March 2026) says a March 2026 rules change removed the TWOV appendix by mistake. The scheme now runs as a published concession with the same conditions, and there has been no change to UK transit policy.

Do you need an ETA to change planes in the UK?

Nationals on the ETA list, such as US, Canadian, EU and Gulf citizens, do not need a transit visa. The question is whether they need an ETA.

  • Airside: no. GOV.UK lists airside transit among the cases where you do not need an ETA. The checker adds that you should carry evidence of your onward journey, such as a ticket.
  • Landside: yes. GOV.UK says you need an ETA (£20) if you pass through border control.

GOV.UK says that if you have a criminal record or have been refused entry to the UK before, you may want to apply for a transit visa instead of relying on an ETA.

GOV.UK gives no end date for the airside exemption. However, the Home Office ETA factsheet (April 2026) says travellers changing planes at Heathrow and Manchester without passing through passport control “do not currently need” an ETA. Check GOV.UK again close to your trip.

A UK ETA does not help visa nationals. If your passport is on the visa list, you cannot get an ETA.

Worked examples

These examples apply the GOV.UK checker to common routes. Each one assumes an ordinary passport and a single booking with bags checked through, unless stated otherwise. Rows marked airside with an exempt document assume a same-day connection from the same airport. The route is only an example, and airlines decide who boards.

Traveller Connection What GOV.UK says they need
Indian citizen with a valid US visa, Delhi to New York via Heathrow, same-day connection Airside No UK visa. The US visa is a DATV exemption
Indian citizen with no exempt document, flying via Heathrow to South America Airside DATV, £41.50
Indian citizen on separate tickets who must collect bags at Heathrow Landside Visitor in Transit visa, £74.50, unless they qualify for TWOV
Nigerian citizen with a valid Canadian visa, same-day connection at Manchester for Toronto Airside No UK visa. The Canadian visa is a DATV exemption
Nigerian citizen flying Lagos to Dublin via Heathrow Enters the UK Usually a Standard Visitor visa, unless they hold an Irish biometric visa and qualify for TWOV
Filipino citizen, Manila to Toronto via Heathrow, same-day connection Airside No UK visa
Filipino citizen with an overnight connection and no airside place to stay Landside Visitor in Transit visa, unless they qualify for TWOV
Pakistani citizen with a Spanish residence permit, same-day connection at Manchester for Spain Airside No UK visa. An EEA residence permit is a DATV exemption
South African citizen with only a Schengen short-stay visa, via Heathrow to a Schengen country Airside DATV, £41.50. A short-stay Schengen visa is not an exemption
US citizen, New York to Delhi via Heathrow Airside No ETA. Carry proof of the onward flight
US citizen who leaves Heathrow for a hotel during a long layover Landside ETA, £20

India, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa are all on the DATV list, so the same exemptions apply to each. The Philippines is on the UK visa list but not the DATV list: for airside transit the GOV.UK checker says “You do not need a visa to come to the UK”. Every traveller still needs the right documents for their destination.

Travelling on to Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

These are not normal transits. You cannot transit airside to Ireland or elsewhere in the Common Travel Area. The Home Office guidance explains that the UK carries out immigration control at the first point of entry, so a traveller heading to Ireland via the UK is treated as entering the UK.

GOV.UK says visa nationals will usually need a Standard Visitor visa (£135), unless exempt. You do not need a UK visitor visa if you have a valid visa for the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or a valid Irish biometric visa marked “BC” or “BC BIVS”. For a US citizen heading to Ireland, the GOV.UK checker says an ETA is needed to pass through UK border control.

How to apply for a transit visa

  1. Run the GOV.UK checker. Apply only if it says you need a visa.
  2. Apply online on GOV.UK. One online service handles both transit visas.
  3. Prepare documents: a current passport, proof you can enter your destination (such as a visa, residence permit or green card) and, if asked, your onward booking.
  4. Attend a visa application centre for fingerprints and a photo. GOV.UK warns it could be in another country.
  5. Wait for the decision, usually within 3 weeks. GOV.UK advises not to book travel until you have a decision. If you need to show an onward booking, consider a refundable fare or a held reservation.
  6. Carry your visa and documents when you travel through the UK.

The Home Office caseworker guidance says a DATV can be valid from 1 month to 2 years for any number of journeys. First-time travellers are issued a DATV valid for 3 months.

Common mistakes and scams

  • Thinking airside means you need nothing. Indian, Nigerian, Pakistani and South African passports without an exemption still need a DATV.
  • Relying on a Schengen short-stay visa. It is not on the DATV exemption list.
  • Separate tickets, overnight stops or a change of airport. Each can put you through border control, turning a free airside transit into a £74.50 visa or a £20 ETA.
  • Expecting to leave if your flight is cancelled. The Home Office guidance says officers may let DATV holders enter only in exceptional circumstances.
  • E-visas and expired documents. Exempt visas and permits must be valid. E-visas count airside only if the airline can verify them, and never for landside TWOV.
  • Agents promising a “guaranteed” transit visa. Only the Home Office decides, and the official fees are £41.50 and £74.50 (the local amount may differ slightly). GOV.UK asks you to report visa and immigration scams to Report Fraud.

Planning your connection

How Voyfaro can help

  • Visas and ETAs: we point you to the official GOV.UK pages and explain them in plain English. We do not apply for, issue or guarantee visas, transit visas or ETAs. See our visa guidance.
  • Bookings: we help you compare flights, hotels, eSIMs and travel insurance from partners we reach through the Travelpayouts affiliate network.
  • You stay in control: you book and pay directly with the partner. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.
  • Questions? Contact us with your route, passports and dates. Asking is free.

FAQ

Do Indians need a transit visa for the UK?

Usually, yes. India is on the UK’s Direct Airside Transit visa list, so Indian citizens need a £41.50 DATV even to change planes airside, unless they hold an exempt document. Exempt documents include a valid US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand visa, a US green card, or an EEA or Swiss residence permit. If you pass through border control, you need a £74.50 Visitor in Transit visa unless you qualify for the Transit Without Visa scheme.

Can I transit through Heathrow with a US visa?

For airside transit, yes, if your passport is on the DATV list and your US visa is valid. GOV.UK says a visa for the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand can be used “for travel to any country”. Airline guidance also expects a confirmed onward flight the same day from the same airport. Syrian citizens cannot use a US B1/B2 visa for this. For landside transit, the US visa helps only if you are travelling to or from the US and meet the other TWOV conditions.

Does a Schengen visa let me transit the UK without a DATV?

A Schengen short-stay visa does not appear on GOV.UK’s DATV exemption list. The list includes residence permits from EEA countries or Switzerland, category D long-stay visas, and two Approved Destination Scheme group tourism cases.

Do I need a UK ETA for a layover at Heathrow or Manchester?

Not if you stay airside and are from an ETA country, such as the US. GOV.UK lists airside transit as a case where you do not need an ETA. You need an ETA if you pass through border control. Visa nationals cannot use an ETA and follow the transit visa rules instead.

Do Filipino citizens need a UK transit visa?

Not for airside transit. The GOV.UK checker says Filipino citizens do not need a visa to change planes without passing through border control. For landside transit, they need a Visitor in Transit visa unless they qualify for the Transit Without Visa scheme.

How much is a UK transit visa and how long does it take?

A Direct Airside Transit visa costs £41.50 and a Visitor in Transit visa costs £74.50. The Home Office fee update of 8 October 2026 leaves both unchanged. GOV.UK says you will usually get a decision within 3 weeks, and you should not book travel until you have one.

Can I leave the airport with a Direct Airside Transit visa?

No. A DATV is not entry clearance and does not let you enter the UK. To leave the airport, you need a Visitor in Transit visa (for up to 48 hours), a Standard Visitor visa, or a TWOV exemption, depending on your situation.

I have an overnight connection in London. Which visa do I need?

If there is nowhere airside to stay overnight, GOV.UK says you will pass through border control. Visa nationals then need a Visitor in Transit visa unless they qualify for TWOV, and ETA nationals need an ETA. Even with an airside transit hotel, the Home Office guidance for airlines says visa nationals transiting airside without a visa need an onward flight the same day, so ask your airline before you book.

Can Voyfaro apply for my transit visa?

No. Only the Home Office issues transit visas and ETAs. You apply yourself through GOV.UK. We can help you compare flights, hotels, eSIMs and insurance for your trip.

Sources

Official pages we checked on 6 October 2026:

Last reviewed Report a correction

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