At Manchester you can change planes without passing UK border control, if both flights are on one ticket through Terminal 2. To leave the airport, or to connect on separate tickets, you need permission to enter the UK, and which kind depends on your passport.
To leave Manchester airport, British and Irish citizens need nothing extra, and most visa-free travellers (US, Canada, Australia, EU and more) need an approved UK ETA (£20) before they fly. Visa nationals, including Indian citizens, need a Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50, up to 48 hours) unless a concession applies. Changing planes airside on one ticket through Terminal 2, ETA nationalities need no ETA, while some visa nationals need a Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50).
If you stay airside
Manchester Airport (MAN) has an airside route for connections: Terminal 2’s two Flight Transfer Centres take you from your arriving flight to the departure lounge without passing UK border control, and your checked bags go straight through to your final destination. You can use it if:
- both flights are on one ticket that includes the connection;
- your airline takes part, which not all do, so ask it before you fly;
- both flights use Terminal 2, as every airline but Ryanair does.
When you land, follow the signs to the Flight Transfer Centre. Then:
- ETA nationalities (US, Canada, Australia, EU and others) don’t need an ETA to change planes this way: GOV.UK lists transiting airside, without passing through border control, among the times you don’t need one. If you’re not sure your connection stays airside, ask your airline, as GOV.UK advises, or get an ETA anyway: it costs £20 and lasts 2 years.
- India and the other countries on the UK’s transit visa list: even without leaving, you need a Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50), unless you carry a qualifying document, such as a valid visa for the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand (wherever you’re flying), certain permanent residence cards, a residence permit from the EEA or Switzerland, or a valid Irish visa.
- Connecting to a flight within the UK, or between Terminal 2 and Ryanair’s Terminal 3, means passing border control, so the rules for leaving the airport apply.
If you want to leave the airport
Leaving the airport means entering the UK, even for a few hours, so you need permission first.
| Passport | What you need to leave Manchester airport |
|---|---|
| India, or any other country whose citizens need a UK visa | A Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50, up to 48 hours) or a Standard Visitor visa, unless a concession applies |
| An EU or EEA country, or Switzerland | A UK ETA (£20), approved before you fly |
| The US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand | A UK ETA (£20), approved before you fly |
| The UK or Ireland | No ETA or visa |
The UK ETA
- Where to apply: the official UK ETA app or GOV.UK, for £20. Other websites charge more for the same thing.
- How long it takes: a decision usually comes by email within a day, but it can take up to 3 working days, and you need the approval before you travel.
- How long it lasts: 2 years, or until your passport expires if that’s sooner, for any number of trips of up to 6 months.
- One each: babies and children need their own.
- Who checks it: your airline, before you board. Without it, you can be refused boarding.
Visitor in Transit visa
For visa nationals who pass through UK border control, whether to leave the airport or to change planes on separate tickets. It costs £74.50, and you must leave the UK within 48 hours; for a longer stay, apply for a Standard Visitor visa.
Transit without a visa
Some visa nationals can cross the border as transit passengers without a visa, which is enough for a few hours in Manchester. You must arrive and leave by air, hold a confirmed onward flight leaving before 11:59pm on the day after you arrive, and carry one of the documents the Home Office lists, which is shorter than the airside list above. A valid US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand visa counts only if you’re flying to or from that country. Certain permanent residence cards from those countries count too, as does an EEA or Swiss residence permit or category D visa. Electronic visas don’t count, even printed out. The concession is set out in Home Office guidance rather than on the main GOV.UK pages, so confirm with the official visa checker before you plan to leave the airport.
If you’re on separate tickets
The Flight Transfer Centres are only for connections on one ticket. On separate tickets you pass UK border control, collect your bags, check in again for your next flight and clear security, so you need an ETA or a visa even if you never leave the airport. Leave plenty of time between the flights: the airport doesn’t publish a minimum, and your second airline won’t wait if the first is late.
At the border
The queue at Manchester’s border is usually under 15 minutes, and longer in school holidays and at Christmas. The eGates are normally open to:
- British and Irish citizens;
- holders of a valid ETA, eVisa or digital record from an EU country, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein;
- members of the Registered Traveller service.
You must be at least 8 (under-18s with an adult) and 120cm tall, with the biometric symbol on your passport. ID cards don’t work at the gates. Everyone else queues at a staffed desk, which takes longer. Passport Control FastTrack, sold on the airport’s website, skips the queue, but can’t be refunded and needs a pass for everyone in your group.
Before you go landside
- Ask your airline whether your bags are checked through to your final destination, and what happens to them if you go through the border instead of the Flight Transfer Centre.
- Keep your onward boarding pass, and be back at Terminal 2 90 minutes before departure, or earlier if you still need to check in or drop a bag. See getting into the city.