UK ETA for Peruvian Citizens

Peru at a Glance

Peru sits in a different place from its neighbours on the Registered Traveller list, and it is the main reason the planning advice differs from the Chilean or Argentine pages. The table gives the usual outcomes. Each row is explained in the sections that follow.

Peru in the January 2025 Group

The ETA National List is arranged by travel date. Qatar was first, the Gulf states came next, and a large group took effect for travel on or after 8 January 2025. Peru was in that group, together with a number of Latin American, Caribbean and Pacific nationalities. The later European group began on 2 April 2025, and it does not affect Peru.

So a Peruvian traveller has been subject to the approval requirement for a little over a year. A description from before January 2025 that says Peruvians can simply visit without any check describes the earlier position, not the current one.

The Adult Passport and the Approval

The approval is granted for the passport named in the application, and it is valid only when that passport is used for travel. The Immigration Rules say this directly. If you apply with one passport and then present a different one at the border, the approval does not cover the journey.

Peruvian official guidance says an electronic adult passport is valid for 10 years. That is a long life, but the approval has its own clock. It lasts two years from grant, or until the passport named in the application expires if that comes sooner. In practice, a passport with several years to run does not lengthen the approval, and the approval can end before the passport does.

Your passport must also remain valid for the whole stay. Check the expiry date against the planned return date before you apply, not after. Whether an approval is in place, and when it expires, can be checked online, which is worth doing before the flight. A valid approval also covers several journeys, as long as each one still fits the Visitor rules.

Children’s Passports and the Two-Year Limit

This is where Peruvian families most often get caught out. Official Peruvian guidance gives shorter validity to children’s passports: 5 years for a passport issued between the ages of 12 and 17, and 3 years for a child under 12.

Those periods matter because the approval is also limited by the passport. A child’s three-year passport that was issued two years and nine months ago has only a few months left, and an approval applied for now would end when that passport expires. The shorter the passport, the more carefully the expiry date needs checking against the approval and the trip.

Each child needs their own approval, and their passport is the one that counts. For further background, see our children, babies and families article.

The DNI Is Not a Travel Document

The Peruvian DNI, the Documento Nacional de Identidad, is the national identity document. Official Peruvian guidance treats it as the identity document an adult needs in order to apply for a passport, and the national registry describes its electronic version, the DNIe, as valid for 10 years from issue.

For an approval trip, the DNI does not replace the passport. The approval is tied to the passport named in the application, and the identity document does not change that. Official sources give no basis for using the DNI as an approval document, so do not plan around it.

The UK rules that matter for identity cards apply to EU national identity cards and are not relevant to a Peruvian DNI. Keep the passport as the travel document and treat the DNI as proof of identity at home.

Registered Traveller: Why Peru Is Not Listed

Registered Traveller is a membership service with its own eligible-passport list, and it is separate from the ETA. It offers members faster processing through UK passport lanes and, where a passport has a chip, the ePassport gates. Membership requires an eligible passport and either an eligible UK visa or a recent travel history.

Peru is not on the current list. Several neighbours are, including Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, which is why a page written for one of those countries may suggest a route that does not exist for a Peruvian passport holder. Do not infer Peruvian eligibility from the position of a neighbour.

The exclusion does not mean Peruvians are barred from every faster process. It means the Registered Traveller route is not available on nationality alone. Check the current list before relying on any expedited route, because the list can change.

eGates for Peruvian Passport Holders

The automatic eGates are open to listed non-EU nationalities, with conditions. The published list covers Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States. Peru is not on that list, so Peruvian nationality alone does not give eGate access.

The gates also require a biometric passport symbol, an age of 8 or over and valid digital immigration status or a digital exemption. Users aged 8 to 17 must be accompanied, and must be 120cm or taller. Registered Traveller members may also be able to use the gates, but Peru is not on that list either.

The position is clear for nationality, but not guaranteed for every traveller. Plan for a staffed lane. For the arrival process in more detail, see our guide to UK border control, eGates and arrival.

If You Hold a UK Visa Instead

A Peruvian who holds a UK visa does not need an approval for the journey the visa covers, but a visa held electronically brings its own checks. Official border guidance for non-EU travellers says the eVisa should be linked to the passport you are carrying, and that you can sign in to your UK immigration account to confirm the link is current.

Before you travel, the guidance advises getting a share code to prove your immigration status. A share code is valid for 90 days, so generate it close to the trip rather than weeks in advance. Carry your current passport with the visa details, and keep the code available in case the carrier asks for proof of permission.

Who Does Not Need an Approval

The ETA guidance lists the groups who do not need an approval. Several are relevant to Peruvian travellers, depending on their documents and status.

• A holder of a valid UK visa, for the journey the visa covers.
• A person with permission to live, work or study in the UK, including settled or pre-settled status and right of abode.
• A person waiting for a decision on an EU Settlement Scheme application, with valid proof.
• A British or Irish citizen, who travels on that nationality’s evidence.
• A holder of a British Overseas Territory Citizen or British National (Overseas) passport.
• A person with permission to live, work or study in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, for travel on that basis.
• A person lawfully resident in the Republic of Ireland who meets the Common Travel Area conditions.

Each exemption depends on a particular document or status, so match yourself to the one that applies and keep the evidence with your travel papers.

Dual Nationals

A Peruvian who also holds another nationality should start by choosing the passport they will cross the border with. The answer follows from that choice, and then from any British or Irish nationality the traveller holds.

A Peruvian who is also a British or Irish citizen cannot obtain an approval. The guidance accepts a valid British passport, a second passport with a certificate of entitlement to right of abode, or a valid Irish passport as proof. Such a traveller uses that evidence rather than applying as an ordinary Peruvian passport holder.

A Peruvian with a second nationality on the ETA National List applies with the passport they will use, and the approval covers only that document. A second nationality that requires a UK visa means checking the visa rules for that passport. This guide does not offer Peruvian nationality-law advice, because the UK answer rests on the passport and on any British or Irish citizenship.

For the wider British and Irish position, see our dual citizens article.

Families and Mixed Documents

A Peruvian family can hold very different documents: a parent on a Peruvian electronic passport, a teenager on a five-year passport, a younger child on a three-year passport, and in some households a parent with a British passport or UK status. Each person is assessed on their own document and status.

Results can come back on different days. Plan the flight around the last result, and do not book non-refundable travel for the whole group until every person has an outcome. Keep proof of the relationship with the passports, since the border may ask about it.

What an Approval Permits

An approval covers brief Visitor journeys, with stays of up to six months on each occasion. It can cover several journeys while it remains valid, provided each one still fits those limits.

• Holidays and sightseeing. See UK ETA for tourism.
• Visits to relatives and friends. See visiting family and friends.
• Meetings and conferences. See UK ETA for business visits.
• Short courses. See UK ETA for short-term study.
• Certain paid engagements. See permitted paid engagements.

What an Approval Does Not Permit

An approval is not a work permit, a student visa or a route to settle. Activities that fall outside the Visitor framework can lead to refusal or to the cancellation of permission.

• Paid work for a UK employer. That needs its own route.
• Living in the UK through repeated trips. Frequent visits do not create a right to stay. See how often you can visit on an ETA.
• Long-term study. Study beyond the Visitor rules needs a different permission.

If your purpose falls outside these lines, the UK visa guide and our comparison of ETA and visa routes set out the alternatives.

Renewing or Replacing a Passport

A renewed or replacement passport carries a new document number, and the approval belongs to the passport named in the application. Check whether the approval still matches the document you will carry. Where it does not, apply again with the new passport.

Adults generally apply in person at the national immigration offices or at the public service centres, booking first where the process requires it, and bringing a valid DNI. Minors also attend in person, accompanied by a parent. Build the renewal into your planning, because an in-person appointment can take longer than the trip has room for.

For the wider rules, see our ETA validity and new passport article.

How a Peruvian Passport Is Obtained

Official Peruvian guidance describes the adult electronic passport as an in-person process. The applicant attends the national immigration offices or one of the public service centres, usually after booking an appointment, and presents a valid DNI in good condition, the most recently issued one, together with the payment receipt for the procedure.

Where a trip is imminent and no appointment is available, the official guidance describes an urgent route for passports, which can be used when travel is already booked. It is the route to check first if a renewal has to land before a fixed departure. Start early anyway, since appointment availability is not something a traveller can control.

For a child, the in-person rule applies to the minor too. The child attends with at least one parent, and the adult presenting the documents must hold their own DNI or, if a foreigner, a valid identity document. Children aged 12 and over must be present at collection. The shorter child validity periods described above make it worth planning these appointments around the expiry dates, not the travel date alone.

The national registry states that the renewed DNIe is valid for 10 years from issue, and that Peruvians living abroad renew their DNI through the consulate. That matters for the identity document only; the passport is still the approval document.

A Planning Order That Works

The steps are easiest to manage in sequence. Start by listing every traveller and their passport expiry date, not only the adults. That list shows whether any passport will expire before the trip or within the approval period, and so whether a renewal has to come first.

Next, decide which passport each person will travel on, and check whether any of them already holds UK permission that covers the trip. Apply only for those who need an approval, using the passport they will carry. Decisions usually arrive within a few working days, and the official guidance advises checking the junk folder before assuming nothing has come.

Book non-refundable travel last, after every approval has been received. The approval record is checked online, and the passport is the only document needed at the border.

Three Worked Examples

The examples below apply the rules to made-up cases. They are illustrations, not assessments of any real traveller.

• A Peruvian adult with an electronic passport, visiting relatives for three weeks. No UK permission, so an approval is needed, linked to that passport. The approval runs two years, and the passport has eight years left, so the passport does not limit it.
• A Peruvian child on a three-year passport issued two years and eight months ago. An approval for this child would end when the passport expires, about four months later. Renewing before applying avoids an approval that lapses soon after it is granted.
• A Peruvian and Irish dual citizen visiting Edinburgh. No approval can be obtained. The Irish passport is the document to present, and the approval rule does not apply to that journey.

Your own case may differ in detail, so compare it with the rules rather than with these summaries.

Transit and Connections

Whether a connection needs an approval depends on whether the route passes through UK border control. If it does, before the onward flight, the approval is needed. A connection that stays airside and never passes that control does not need one for the purpose.

Ask the airline how the ticket is routed. A single trip can be airside on one leg and landside on another, and we do not name airlines, airports or Peru-specific routes. The general framework is in our transit and layovers article.

Ireland and Northern Ireland

The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK and the Common Travel Area are four distinct things. The Republic is its own state, Northern Ireland is part of the UK, and the Common Travel Area is the arrangement that eases movement among the UK, the Republic, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

The Common Travel Area does not cancel the approval for a Peruvian who needs one. The exemption applies only to those lawfully resident in the Republic under the relevant rules, and proof can be requested from those aged 16 or over. A visitor who is simply passing through Ireland does not qualify. For detail, see our Ireland and Common Travel Area article.

Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man

Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies, not parts of the UK. A UK ETA can cover travel to the UK together with those three islands, so a single approval may serve a visit to England and an island within its validity.

Permission to live, work or study on an island is a separate exemption. Check the position for the island you intend to visit shortly before travelling, because those arrangements can change.

The Border on Arrival

For a traveller from outside the EU and its neighbouring European states, the passport and any visa are checked at border control. The officer usually asks why you are visiting, and may ask to see evidence of the plans you describe.

Have the passport ready and out of its holder. Remove sunglasses or a face covering, and pass through control together if travelling as a family. Keep the address where you will stay and your onward ticket available.

The officer decides on entry. The approval permits travel but does not guarantee admission. If you are refused, our guide to refused and rejected applications explains the next steps.

Information to Gather

The application is quicker when the details are ready. Most delays come from a passport number typed wrongly, a photograph that fails the rules, or a travel date that has moved.

• The passport you will travel on. Note its number and expiry date.
• An email address you check. Decisions arrive by email, so watch the junk folder.
• A compliant photograph. Follow the rules on our requirements page.
• Travel details. Arrival and departure dates, and the address where you will stay.
• Status proof, if relied on. Any settlement reference or proof of a pending application.

For timing, see our UK ETA processing time guide. The basics are in the UK ETA requirements article.

Steps in the Online Form

The online form has the same sequence for every nationality.

1. Choose the passport you will travel on and enter its number.
2. Enter your name as it appears on the passport data page.
3. Upload a compliant photograph and check it before submitting.
4. Describe your travel and purpose accurately.
5. Pay the service fee where one applies and keep the confirmation.
6. Watch for the decision email and bring the same passport to the airport.

Be cautious with sites that imitate government services or ask for more than the official route does.

Common Mistakes

1. Travelling on the DNI. The approval is linked to the passport.
2. Assuming a ten-year passport means a ten-year approval. The approval lasts two years at most.
3. Ignoring a child’s shorter passport. A three- or five-year passport can expire before the trip ends.
4. Treating Registered Traveller as available. Peru is not on the list, and the eGate position is not automatic.
5. Applying on one passport and flying on another. The approval follows the named passport.
6. Missing a British or Irish citizenship. A dual citizen cannot obtain an approval.
7. Forgetting a child needs their own approval. Each traveller needing one requires an individual approval.
8. Overlooking Northern Ireland. The approval rule applies there.
9. Relying on a neighbouring country’s position. Each nationality is judged on its own list entries.
10. Treating approval as a guarantee. The officer at the border has the final decision.

Before Departure

• ✓You know which passport you are travelling on, and the approval names it.
• ✓The passport has enough validity left for the whole stay and for the approval.
• ✓Each child’s passport has been checked against its own expiry date.
• ✓You have not relied on the DNI for the approval trip.
• ✓You have checked settled status, visas and other exemptions.
• ✓British or Irish citizens are travelling on that evidence.
• ✓The name on the application matches the passport data page.
• ✓Every connection has been checked for an airside or landside route.
• ✓You are not depending on eGates or Registered Traveller.
• ✓Any leg into Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man has been planned.
• ✓The activities you plan sit within the Visitor rules.

UK ETA FAQs for Peruvian Citizens

Want more answers? Browse our UK ETA FAQs or contact us. You can also go back to the eligibility checker.