Has your Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) been refused?

Why has your ETA been refused?

An ETA may be refused for several reasons, including criminal activity, prior violations of immigration laws (such as overstaying a visa, breaching visa conditions, or using deception in a previous application), providing false information, having a previous visitor visa application refused (without a subsequent approval), or having an ETA cancelled without the approval of a new visa application.

There is no right to administrative review or appeal against the refusal decision.

What do you need to do now?

If the ETA is refused, for example due to a criminal conviction, the applicant will need to apply for a visa. In most cases, this will involve applying for a visitor visa. For some applicants, securing the visa may resolve the issue, allowing them to travel to the UK with the visa. Once they have the visa, an ETA will no longer be required.

However, some applicants may still encounter issues with their visitor visa application, which could result in a refusal. For instance, the rules specify that a visitor visa application must be refused if the applicant:

(a) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, unless more than 12 months have passed since the end of the custodial sentence

(b) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a non-custodial sentence, or received an out-of-court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record, unless more than 12 months have passed since the end of the sentence

Visa applicants with a criminal conviction which does not fall for mandatory refusal, may still be refused by the Home Office on a discretionary basis.

Why Choose Muldoon Britton?

→ Qualified UK Immigration Solicitors (regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority)

→ We’ve helped hundreds of individuals & businesses across the US with UK family & spouse visas

→ Affordable fixed fee UK visa advice, assistance & application support

→ US office in New York (as well as offices in London, Manchester & Ireland)

→ Convenient remote consultations available across the US (calls, video calls & email)

Call either our US office or UK office during normal office hours, or use our form below

US Office: +1 917 268 3496    UK Office: +44 (0) 161 464 3394