UK adds Nauru to transit visa list from 10 Dec 2025
From 10 December 2025, the UK has added Nauru to its transit visa list. If you’re connecting through a UK airport and you’re a Nauru national, you must now hold a transit visa to pass airside on your way to another country. We’ve set out what changed and how to check if it applies to you.
According to the Home Office Order published on legislation.gov.uk, the Immigration (Passenger Transit Visa) (Amendment) (No. 4) Order 2025 was made on 4 December, laid before Parliament on 9 December, and comes into force on 10 December. It amends the 2014 Passenger Transit Visa Order by adding “Nauru” to Schedule 1, the list of nationalities that must hold a transit visa to pass through the UK without entering. There is a single transitional rule: if a Nauru citizen already held a booking before 10 December 2025 and arrives on or before 20 January 2026, they can complete that specific journey without a transit visa. The Order is signed by Mike Tapp, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office.
What is a UK transit visa in plain terms? In UK guidance, two routes exist. If you stay airside and do not go through passport control, the document is a Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV). If you do go through border control but leave within 48 hours, it’s usually a Visitor in Transit visa. The GOV.UK pages explain both routes clearly and note that needs vary by nationality and journey.
Who actually needs to apply after this change? A Nauru national changing flights in the UK without entering the country will now need a DATV, unless they already hold a qualifying UK visa or status. Home Office caseworker guidance makes the link: certain nationalities on Schedule 1 of the 2014 Order must hold a DATV for airside transit; this amendment adds Nauru to that list.
The temporary grace period matters if your plans were already set. Imagine you booked on 5 December for a connection that arrives in London on 15 January and departs the same day. You fall within the exemption. If you rebook after 10 December, or your new arrival is 21 January, the exemption no longer applies and you would need a DATV. Keep evidence of your pre‑10 December booking with your travel documents.
For teachers and students, here are the date markers to note with confidence: made on 4 December 2025, laid on 9 December 2025, in force from 10 December 2025; the booking exemption ends for arrivals after 20 January 2026. These phrases describe clear stages in how UK rules change.
How do changes like this happen? The UK Parliament describes Statutory Instruments as the main form of secondary legislation. Departments draft a short instrument to amend existing law and publish an explanatory note in plain English. Many SIs are simply “laid” before Parliament rather than being debated at length, which is why updates like this appear quickly on legislation.gov.uk.
If this applies to you, start with the official application guidance. GOV.UK sets out the documents you need, explains that you’ll give fingerprints and a photo at a visa application centre, and says decisions usually take around three weeks. Plan ahead so your visa is in place before you travel.
One final piece of context for your lesson notes: the UK is also rolling out Electronic Travel Authorisation for many visa‑free visitors. The Home Office says carriers will enforce “no permission, no travel” from 25 February 2026. ETAs are separate from visas; GOV.UK notes you do not need a transit visa if you have an ETA, but travellers who are not ETA‑eligible must follow the visa route described above.