UK ETA for Liechtenstein Citizens: How to Apply

Liechtenstein citizens need a UK ETA, not a visa, to visit Britain for up to six months. The travel authorisation costs £20, is tied to one passport and lasts two years or until that passport expires, whichever is sooner. Liechtenstein joined the scheme in the European rollout on 2 April 2025, so an approved ETA is now required before you board.

TL;DR: Hold a Liechtenstein passport? Apply online before you fly. The £20 permit usually arrives by email within minutes, though the Home Office allows up to three working days. One approval covers repeat trips for two years, each stay capped at six months.

The form takes only a few minutes once you see the layout. Our guide on how to apply for a UK ETA online covers every field, and the fee guide explains the £20 charge. First, the essentials for the principality.

Do Liechtenstein citizens need a UK ETA?

Yes. Since 2 April 2025 every Liechtenstein passport holder must hold an approved ETA before a short visit to the UK, as set out on the Home Office ETA National List. Liechtenstein sits in the April 2025 European group alongside EU and other EEA states. Being an EEA and Schengen member did not exempt the principality — the ETA is a pre-travel check for all these nationals now, though it is not a visa.

There is no embassy appointment and no posted passport. Each traveller needs their own ETA, so a family of four files four applications. If you are unsure whether your trip is covered, our guide to who needs a UK ETA lists the exceptions, and you can confirm your status with the official check if you need a UK visa tool. The country guide shows where Liechtenstein fits.

Business trips to London

Liechtenstein’s banking and finance sector sends plenty of professionals to the City of London, and a business meeting, conference or client visit sits well within what an ETA allows. You can attend meetings, negotiate and sign deals. What you cannot do is take up paid employment with a UK company — that needs a work visa.

Consider Matthias, a fund administrator from Vaduz flying to a two-day conference in London. His £20 ETA cleared in seven minutes, and the same approval will cover his next three client trips over the following two years. If he also holds a Swiss or Austrian passport, our guide on which passport to use at the UK border helps him decide which document to travel on and register.

How much is the UK ETA, and what does it cover?

The permit costs £20, the rate in force since 8 April 2026, when the fee rose from £16 (it was £10 until April 2025), per GOV.UK. In Swiss francs that is roughly CHF 22. You pay once, and the official app adds no card surcharge.

For frequent travellers the value is obvious: one approval, two years, unlimited entries. The Home Office reported 24.8 million ETAs issued between the October 2023 launch and the end of 2025. Our £20 fee explainer sets out the context.

How to apply from Liechtenstein, step by step

From Vaduz or Schaan, most people finish the form in under 20 minutes on a phone. The official app and form are in English, so a phone translator can help if you prefer German. Keep your current passport to hand, because it reads the chip.

1. Open the official ETA app or the GOV.UK form. Our app download guide shows the genuine listing.
2. Scan the passport photo page, then tap the cover to read the biometric chip.
3. Take a live selfie in even light. If it bounces back, the photo rules explain the fix.
4. Answer the character and history questions honestly.
5. Pay the £20 by card or digital wallet and submit.
6. Watch your email, and track a slow case with our status-check guide.

Would you rather not deal with the form during a packed week? You can apply directly on GOV.UK for £20, or let us check and submit your application with you so nothing is overlooked. That reassurance matters most when an older relative is applying for the first time.

Getting to the UK: flying from Zurich

Liechtenstein has no airport of its own, so almost everyone departs from Zurich, around 90 minutes away by car or train. Zurich Airport runs frequent direct flights to London City, Heathrow and Gatwick, so there is no third-country transit to worry about and no US visa in the picture — a cleaner position than many non-European travellers face.

Because the journey starts in Switzerland, give yourself time for the transfer from the principality on the day. The ETA itself does not change anything at Zurich; you simply carry the approval linked to your passport, and British Airways or Swiss check it at the gate. Buses run from Vaduz to the Swiss rail network, and the whole hop is domestic in feel.

Pro tip: Apply for the ETA well before you drive to Zurich, not at the airport. Most approvals are instant, but a small number get pulled for review, and you do not want that landing while you are already at the gate.

Common issues for Liechtenstein passport holders

Most snags involve the passport, not the traveller. Your ETA is bound to one passport number. Renew the passport and the old approval stops working — you reapply for a fresh £20 ETA and travel on the new book. Our note on reapplying after a renewal sets out the steps.

Watch how you enter German names with umlauts. A passport prints the machine-readable zone with ä as “ae”, ö as “oe” and ü as “ue”, so copy the details exactly as that zone shows them, not as you would write them by hand. A mismatch between the ETA and the passport is the usual reason a boarding gate hesitates. For a full checklist, see our requirements-by-country guide.

Keep an ETA’s limits in mind. It clears you to board; a Border Force officer at the UK gate still decides on entry. Carry your return ticket and the address where you will stay, and arrivals is quick. Prefer a second pair of eyes before a fixed date? Apply on GOV.UK for £20, or give us the details and we will review and file the form with you. We are an independent assistance service and are not part of the UK government.

Frequently asked questions

Do Liechtenstein citizens need a visa for the UK?

No — an ETA, not a visa, for visits up to six months. Liechtenstein joined the scheme on 2 April 2025. Work, study or longer stays still need the relevant visa applied for separately.

How much does the UK ETA cost from Liechtenstein?

It is £20, roughly CHF 22. The fee rose from £16 to £20 on 8 April 2026. A single payment covers unlimited trips across two years, so it works out cheap for regular travellers.

How long does approval take?

Most ETAs are decided within minutes by email. The Home Office still advises applying at least three working days before travel, in case a case needs a manual review.

Can I attend business meetings in the UK on an ETA?

Yes. Meetings, conferences and client visits are all allowed. What is not allowed is paid employment with a UK company, which requires a work visa applied for separately.

Does my child need their own ETA?

Yes. Every traveller needs an individual ETA at any age. Parents complete a separate £20 application for each child using the child’s own passport.

What happens when I renew my passport?

The old ETA stops working, because it is tied to your passport number. Reapply for £20 and travel on the new passport. The old approval cannot be transferred.

Do I fly from Liechtenstein or Switzerland?

From Switzerland. Liechtenstein has no airport, so travellers use Zurich, about 90 minutes away, which has direct flights to London. There is no third-country transit visa involved.

About the author: Eleanor Winslade, Senior Travel Documentation Editor. Eleanor has covered UK entry requirements since 2017 and writes plain-English, step-by-step guidance for first-time applicants and families. Every guide is checked against current GOV.UK guidance.
Updated: 2026-09-15