UK visa requirements for Peruvian citizens (September 2026)
I went through the Home Office's Electronic Travel Authorisation guidance and the Immigration Rules Appendix that actually lists who needs one, because the visa requirements for Peruvian citizens genuinely did change, just not in the direction some people assume. Peru has been a non-visa nationality for UK visits for years, and that part hasn't moved. What's new, since January 2025, is a mandatory digital check before you fly, one that a lot of Peruvian travellers still aren't expecting the first time they book a trip.
The quick answer
Peruvian citizens don't need a visa to visit the UK for tourism, business, family visits, or short-term study, for stays of up to 6 months. That's been the case for a long time and hasn't changed. What is required now is an approved Electronic Travel Authorisation, an ETA, before you travel, part of a wave of countries added to the scheme for travel from 8 January 2025. Enforcement became strict from 25 February 2026, meaning airlines now refuse boarding to anyone without an approved ETA rather than letting the odd traveller through.
The current fee is £20 per person, including infants, and one ETA covers multiple trips over 2 years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. It's a digital check, not a visa, and it doesn't cover anything beyond an ordinary visit.
If your reason for travel is work, long-term study, or joining family permanently, the ETA doesn't cover that, and you'd need a specific visa applied for in advance, the same as any other non-EU nationality.
What people actually mean by these terms
UK entry content aimed at Peruvian travellers mixes up a few terms that mean genuinely different things.
Non-visa national
Someone who doesn't need a visa to visit the UK for short stays. Peru has held this status for years, unaffected by the newer ETA requirement.
ETA
Electronic Travel Authorisation. Not a visa, a pre-travel digital check confirming you're cleared to board, required since January 2025.
Standard Visitor visa
The UK's visa route for people who do need a visa. Not relevant to Peruvians making an ordinary visit, since the ETA covers that instead.
Skilled Worker and Student visas
Separate long-term routes for employment or study beyond what a visit covers, each needing a UK sponsor and their own application.
The mix-up people actually make: assuming that because Peru has always been visa-free for UK visits, nothing needs arranging before a trip at all. That stopped being true in January 2025. Visa-free and ETA-free aren't the same thing anymore, and travelling without an approved ETA now means being refused boarding, not just an awkward conversation at the border.
Entry requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Visa for tourism, family visits, short business | Not required | Peru is a non-visa national for stays up to 6 months |
| Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) | Required now | £20 per person, apply before you travel, strictly enforced since 25 Feb 2026 |
| Passport validity | Required now | Valid for the whole of your intended stay |
| Skilled employment | Visa required | Skilled Worker visa, needs a licensed UK sponsor |
| Study beyond short-term, or stays over 6 months | Visa required | Student visa or other appropriate long-term route |
The websites charging several times the actual fee
This is worth its own section because it's cost real travellers real money, across every nationality newly added to the ETA scheme, Peru included. The genuine fee is £20, applied for directly through GOV.UK or the official UK ETA app. Third-party websites have set up near-identical-looking application forms and charged inflated prices for the same free-to-process service, sometimes several times the real cost.
These sites often rank highly in search results, which is exactly the problem for anyone applying for the first time and typing "UK ETA" into a search engine without knowing the official domain in advance. They usually do submit a genuine application eventually, so it's not always outright theft, but you're paying for something that costs £20 through the real channel and takes a few minutes to do yourself.
Only apply through GOV.UK or the official UK ETA app. If a site asks for meaningfully more than £20 per person, or adds "processing" or "service" fees on top, you're very likely on a third-party site marking up a free process, not the Home Office's own system.
What the ETA actually lets you do
An approved ETA permits tourism, visiting family and friends, business activities like meetings and conferences, and short-term study, for stays of up to 6 months per visit. One ETA covers multiple trips within its validity window, 2 years or until the passport you applied with expires, whichever happens first. If you renew your passport in the meantime, you'll need a new ETA linked to the new document, since it's tied to the specific passport used in the application, not to you as a person indefinitely.
It doesn't cover working in the UK, even informally, joining a partner or family member on a long-term basis, or studying beyond what counts as short-term. Those all need a proper visa route, applied for before you travel, the same as they would for a visa national.
Visa options beyond a visit
If your reason for travel isn't a visit at all, the ETA isn't the right mechanism, and travelling on one anyway for a longer-term purpose risks being refused entry or having your ETA cancelled. Skilled work in the UK needs a Skilled Worker visa, tied to a job offer from a UK employer holding a sponsor licence. Longer study needs a Student visa, tied to a confirmed offer and a sponsoring institution. Joining a partner or family member already settled in the UK sits under a separate family visa route with its own income and relationship requirements.
Each of these is a genuinely different application from an ETA, with different evidence, different fees, and a longer processing timeline. Matching your paperwork to your actual purpose from the outset avoids being turned away at the border on an ETA that was never meant to cover what you're actually doing.
Before you fly
- Apply for your ETA through GOV.UK or the official app only, never through a third-party site charging more than the £20 government fee.
- Don't assume long-standing visa-free status means nothing to arrange. The ETA is a separate, newer requirement layered on top of it.
- Apply well before your trip, even though approval is often fast, rather than leaving it until the day of travel.
- Check your ETA is still linked to a valid passport if you've renewed since your last application, since a new passport needs a new ETA.
- Apply for every traveller, including infants, since there's no age exemption from the ETA requirement.
FAQ
What are the visa requirements for Peruvian citizens visiting the UK?
None, for an ordinary visit. Peru is a non-visa national, so no Standard Visitor visa is needed for tourism, business, family visits, or short-term study up to 6 months. You do need an approved ETA before you travel, which is a digital check rather than a visa.
Has Peru's visa-free status for the UK changed?
No. Peru has been a non-visa nationality for UK visits for years. What's new is the ETA requirement, added for travel from 8 January 2025 and strictly enforced since 25 February 2026, which sits alongside the existing visa-free status rather than replacing it.
How much does a UK ETA actually cost?
£20 per person as of the current fee, which has risen twice since the scheme's introduction, from £10 to £16 and then to £20. Apply directly through GOV.UK or the official app to avoid third-party sites charging significantly more.
Do babies and children need their own ETA?
Yes. Every traveller, regardless of age, needs an individually approved ETA. There's no exemption for infants.
How long does one ETA last?
Two years, or until the passport you applied with expires, whichever comes first. It allows multiple trips within that window, each up to 6 months.
Can I work in the UK on an ETA?
No. An ETA covers visit-type activities like tourism and business meetings, not employment. Working in the UK needs a Skilled Worker visa or another appropriate route with a licensed sponsor.
Final verdict
For most people asking about visa requirements for Peruvian citizens, the reassuring part is that nothing about your actual right to visit the UK visa-free has changed. The part worth doing properly is the ETA itself: apply directly through GOV.UK or the official app, expect to pay £20 rather than whatever a search-result website is asking, and get it sorted well before you're due to fly rather than assuming a long-standing visa-free status still means nothing needs arranging.
Sources: UK government, Electronic Travel Authorisation guidance · UK government, Immigration Rules Appendix ETA National List. Rules change without much warning, so confirm current requirements before flying.