At Stansted there's no airside transfer for international flights: everyone clears UK passport control, even to change planes. So the documents you'd need to leave the airport are the ones you need to connect.
Yes, on a layover from an international flight you need permission to enter the UK, even to change planes, because Stansted sends every international arrival through passport control. US, Canadian, Australian, EU and most other visa-free travellers need an approved UK ETA (£20) before they fly. Visa nationals, such as Indian passport holders, need a Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50, up to 48 hours) unless they qualify to transit without one. British and Irish citizens need nothing extra.
Changing planes at Stansted
London Stansted Airport (STN) has no airside transfer for international flights. Its connecting-flights page says that all passengers arriving on international flights must pass through passport control, whether they’re connecting to a domestic or an international flight.
- So you enter the UK. GOV.UK says you don’t need an ETA only when you transit without passing through border control (airside), and you do need one if you pass through border control before continuing your journey. At Stansted that means anyone arriving on an international flight, even if they never leave the terminal.
- Your bags. Stansted says your bags may be checked through to your final destination, but to confirm that with your airline. If they aren’t, you collect them in arrivals and check them in again.
- The Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50) is for travellers who won’t go through UK border control. On Stansted’s own description of a connection, it doesn’t fit a connection there; ask your airline if you aren’t sure.
If you want to leave the airport
You’ll already be through passport control, so you need the same permission whether you change planes or go into London.
| Passport | What you need at Stansted |
|---|---|
| British or Irish | Nothing more than your passport |
| American, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand | A UK ETA, £20, approved before you board |
| From the EU, the EEA or Switzerland | A UK ETA, £20, approved before you board |
| Indian, or any other visa national | A Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50, leaving within 48 hours) or a Standard Visitor visa, unless Transit Without Visa applies |
The UK ETA
- Cost: £20 on the official UK ETA app or online at GOV.UK.
- Timing: a decision usually comes by email within a day, but it can take up to 3 working days. You must have the email before you travel.
- Validity: 2 years, or until your passport expires if that’s sooner, for visits of up to 6 months.
- Everyone needs their own, the Home Office says, babies and children included.
Visitor in Transit visa
For visa nationals who go through UK border control on their way to another country, which at Stansted means anyone arriving on an international flight. It costs £74.50, and you must leave the UK within 48 hours. Staying longer needs a Standard Visitor visa. You don’t need one if you already hold a valid ETA, Standard Visitor visa, Marriage Visitor visa, EU Settlement Scheme family permit or Home Office travel document.
Transit Without Visa
The Home Office’s guidance for border officers lets some visa nationals enter as a transit visitor without a visa. You must arrive and leave by air, hold a confirmed booking on a flight leaving the UK before 11:59pm on the day after you arrive, and hold one of the listed documents, for example:
- a valid visa for the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, when travelling to or from that country;
- a permanent residence permit from Australia, Canada or New Zealand, or a US green card (I-551);
- a residence permit from an EEA country or Switzerland, or a category D visa for one;
- a valid Irish biometric visa, when travelling on to Ireland.
Electronic versions of these documents aren’t accepted, printed copies of electronic visas included. The scheme is in Home Office guidance rather than on GOV.UK’s visa pages, so check with the official visa checker and your airline before relying on it.
If you’re on separate tickets
On two separate tickets you go through passport control, collect your bags from reclaim, check in again for the next flight and clear security. Stansted asks connecting passengers to allow plenty of time between flights, especially if bags aren’t checked through, and says minimum connection times vary by airline and route.
At the border
Stansted has separate passport-control lanes for EU and non-EU passengers. You can use the eGates if you’re 8 or older (8 to 17-year-olds with an adult), at least 120cm tall, and have a biometric passport, and are British or Irish. Nationals of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can use them too, with a valid ETA, eVisa or digital record. Everyone else goes to a staffed desk.
Stansted publishes no queue times. Passport Control FastTrack, a separate lane at passport control, costs from £15 a person, is open 24 hours and is booked online before you land. Every passenger needs a pass, children included, and it isn’t sold for arrivals from Ireland or within the UK.
Before you go landside
- Ask your airline whether your bags are checked through to your final destination; if not, collect them and check them in again.
- Plan to be back at the airport 2 hours before departure, with your onward boarding pass, as Stansted itself advises. See getting into London.
A transit tour you can book
If you're allowed to leave London Stansted Airport, a tour that collects you at the airport takes care of the timing. Check that the tour's length fits your layover, leaving time to get out of the airport and to be back 2 hours before your flight.