As much as we love its pleasant pastures and mountains green, sometimes we Brits get tired of the UK’s grey skies and want to see a little bit more of what the world has to offer. These days, our UK passport is our ticket to freedom, but how far (and for how long) can this little book take us?
The good news: with a UK passport you can travel to a lot of countries, often with little to no entry requirements. The Arton Capital Passport Index currently ranks the UK passport as the 7th most powerful globally. The less-good news? It can be a little hard to keep up with what restrictions apply and when.
Most of the countries you can travel to visa-free will let you stay for a period of 90 days out of 180, meaning you’ll then have to come back home for three months before you can go again. This applies to all of the 29 European Schengen countries. For the countries that require a visa on arrival, be prepared to travel with a pen and a little bit of cash in hand as you’ll probably have to fill out a form or two at the airport. The ominous countries with ‘other requirements’ are not so bad either, you’ll most likely just have to pay a small fee online before travelling.
We’ve tried to make this a bit simpler for you by grouping countries into whether you can travel there completely visa-free, by obtaining a visa on arrival or by following other non-visa entry requirements. All that’s left for you to do is to decide whether you’d prefer to hear the steel drums of Trinidad or ride the tuk tuks of Thailand.
Visa-free countries for UK passport holders
- Albania — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Andorra — duration: up to three months
- Anguilla — duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Argentina — duration: up to 90 days
- Aruba — duration: up to 3 months
- Austria — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Bahamas — duration: up to 30 days, can be extended
- Belgium — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Bermuda — duration: 180 days out of 365
- Bolivia — duration: 90 days out of 365
- Botswana — duration: up to 90 days
- Brazil — duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Bulgaria — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Cape Verde — duration: up to 30 days
- Cayman Islands — duration: up to six months, can be extended
- Chile — duration: up to 90 days
- Costa Rica — duration: up to 180 days
- Croatia — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Cyprus — duration: 90 days out of 180 (non-Schengen)
- Czech Republic — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Denmark — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Dominican Republic — duration: up to 30 days
- Ecuador — duration: up to 90 days out of 365, can be extended
- Estonia — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Fiji — duration: up to four months
- Finland — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- France (including overseas territories) — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- French Polynesia — duration: up to 90 days
- Georgia — duration: up to one year
- Germany — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Gibraltar — duration: indefinitely
- Greece — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Guatemala — duration: up to 90 days
- Hong Kong — duration: up to six months
- Hungary — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Iceland — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Ireland — duration: indefinitely
- Italy — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Jamaica — duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Liechtenstein — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Luxembourg — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Latvia — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Lithuania — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Macao — duration: up to six months
- Malta — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Mauritius — duration: up to 60 days
- Mexico — duration: up to 180 days
- Monaco — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Mongolia — duration: up to 30 days in six months
- Montenegro — duration: 90 days out of 180 (non-Schengen)
- Morocco — duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Namibia — duration: up to 90 days
- Netherlands — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Nicaragua — duration: up to 90 days
- Norway — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Oman — duration: up to 14 days
- Panama — duration: up to three months
- Philippines — duration: up to 30 days, can be extended
- Poland — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Portugal — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Romania — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Singapore — duration: up to 30 days
- Slovakia — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Slovenia — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- South Africa — duration: up to 90 days
- Spain — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- St Kitts and Nevis — duration: up to six months
- St Lucia — duration: up to six weeks
- St Vincent and the Grenadines — duration: up to six months, can be extended
- Sweden — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Switzerland — duration: 90 days out of 180 (Schengen rules apply)
- Taiwan — duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Thailand — duration: up to 60 days, can be extended
- Trinidad and Tobago — duration: up to 90 days
- Tunisia — duration: up to 90 days
- Turkey — duration: 90 days out of 180
- Uruguay — duration: up to 90 days
- Uzbekistan — duration: up to 30 days
- Vietnam — duration: up to 45 days
Countries that offer visas on arrival
- Antigua and Barbuda — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days
- Belize — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- British Virgin Islands — cost: free; duration: up to a month, can be extended
- Barbados — cost: free; duration: up to three months, can be extended
- Cambodia — cost: US$30; duration: up to 30 days, can be extended
- Colombia — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days
- Domica — cost: free; duration: up to six months, can be extended
- Egypt — cost: US$25; duration: up to 30 days. Some resorts offer up to 15 days of visa-free entry
- Grenada — cost: free; duration: up to three months
- Indonesia — cost: 500,000 Indonesian rupiah; duration: up to 30 days, can be extended
- Japan — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Jordan — cost: 40 Jordanian dinars; duration: up to 30 days
- Laos — cost: US$50; duration: up to 60 days (from January 1, 2025 it will be 30 days instead)
- Malaysia — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days
- Maldives — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days
- Nepal — cost: from US$30; duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Paraguay — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days, can be extended
- Peru — cost: free; duration: up to 30 days, can be extended
- Qatar — cost: free; duration: up to 30 days
- Turks and Caicos — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days
- UAE — cost: free; duration: up to 40 days, can be extended
- Venezuela — cost: free; duration: up to 90 days
Countries that have additional entry requirements
- Canada — duration: up to six months; other requirements: eTA, which costs CAD$7 and is valid for up to five years multi-entry
- Kenya — duration: up to 90 days; other requirements: eTA, which costs US$30 and is valid for 90 days single entry
- New Zealand — duration: up to six months; other requirements: NZeTA, which costs NZ$17, plus NZ$100 for an IVL (a tourist tax) and is valid for two years multi-entry
- Seychelles – duration: up to three months on arrival and can be extended; other requirements: must apply for authorisation before travel
- South Korea — duration: up to 90 days; other requirements: a K-ETA may be required from 2025
- USA — duration: up to 90 days; other requirements: an Esta, which costs $21 and is valid for two years, or a tourist visa if you’re not eligible for an Esta
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