Help and guidance

You are required to complete a General Aviation Report (GAR) prior to your departure. For more information review the guidance on providing information about international and general aviation flights (opens in new tab on GOV.UK) providing information about international and general aviation flights.

General guidance

Amending a General Aviation Report (GAR)

Changes can only be made to a GAR at least two hours before the expected time of departure. If you need to make changes within 2 hours of the departure time the flight would need to be delayed.

You do not have to amend a report or create a new report if a passenger or crew member is no longer travelling.

Air ambulance flights

In the event of an air ambulance operating in an emergency, every effort should be made to comply with the requirements of the General Aviation (Persons on Board, Flight Information and Civil Penalties) Regulations 2024. However, when this is not possible and the flight has to operate at short notice, or the full details of the passengers on board are unknown, the responsible person should contact the relevant Border Force region for advice.

Exceptional circumstances

If, due to bad weather or technical issues, a flight is forced to change its arrival location in-flight, the following process may be followed:

Provided it is practicable to do so, the change may be notified to the HMRC National Co-ordination Unit (NCU) by calling +44 300 123 2012. If this is not possible, the pilot must divert to the alternative customs and excise designated aerodrome specified on the flight plan.

Flights which the pilot is required to notify in accordance with the Terrorism Act 2000 must use the alternative police designated aerodrome specified on the flight plan. If circumstances mean the pilot is unable to divert to the alternative customs or police designated aerodrome specified on the flight plan, the pilot must redirect to the nearest available airfield, submit a new report and contact local Border Force on arrival.

Further information about reporting in exceptional circumstances in respect of delayed flights can be found in the General Aviation Guidance by following this link Providing information about international general aviation flights (opens in new tab on GOV.UK)

Passport and travel document guidance

Checking passport or travel documents

Pilots, operators, and agents must ensure:

• every individual onboard has a valid, genuine passport or travel document which is acceptable in the UK
• the individual is the rightful holder of the passport or travel document

For more information on checking passports and travel documents, read the guidance on examining identity documents (opens in new tab on GOV.UK).

Permission to travel guidance

Checking permission to travel

For more information on the requirements of checking permission to travel documents, read the guidance on document checks and charges for carriers (opens in new tab on GOV.UK).

The digital permission to travel checks guidance provides information on the checks you need to carry out for visa and non visa nationals to determine if they have permission to travel to the UK.

Visa nationals

Visa nationals are people from a country that require a visa to travel to the UK. You can check if someone is a visa national by checking the UK visa requirements (opens in new tab on GOV.UK).

You'll receive a 'valid permission to travel' result for visa nationals who have a digital permission to travel to the UK. For example, an electronic visa (eVisa).

You'll receive a 'no record of valid permission to travel' result for visa nationals who do not have a digital permission to travel to the UK.

Non visa nationals

Non visa nationals need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) rather than a visa to travel to the UK. You can check which nationalities need an ETA to visit the UK (opens in new tab on GOV.UK).

You'll receive a 'valid permission to travel' result for non visa nationals who have a digital permission to travel to the UK. For example, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA).

You'll receive an 'authority to carry granted' result for non visa nationals who do not have a digital permission to travel to the UK.

British and Irish nationals

For British and Irish nationals, their valid passport is their permission to travel.

You'll receive an 'authority to carry granted' result for British and Irish nationals.

Digital permission to travel checks

These checks tell you if an individual has a valid digital permission to travel to the UK or if a manual check is needed.

You will receive a result for all individuals that you submit data for on the service.

The results you can receive are:

No record of valid permission to travel

We have no record of a digital permission, for example an electronic visa (eVisa), for this person.

Before travelling, you should check that they have one of the following:

• a physical permission to travel or exemption document, for example, a visa vignette or stamp in their passport
• a share code from their UKVI account (opens in new tab on GOV.UK) that shows their digital permission to travel

If they have no exemption or proof of physical or digital permission to travel, you can contact the Border Force Carrier Support Hub for advice on 0300 369 0610 or +44 204 619 6020 from outside the UK.

Authority to carry granted

We have no record of a digital permission, for example an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), for this person.

For British and Irish nationals, their valid passport is their permission to travel.

For all other nationals, you should check that they have one of the following:

• a physical document for permission to travel, for example a visa vignette or stamp in their passport
• an ETA linked to their passport (opens in new tab on GOV.UK)

If they have no exemption or proof of physical or digital permission to travel, you can contact the Border Force Carrier Support Hub for advice on 0300 369 0610 or +44 204 619 6020 from outside the UK.

Valid permission to travel

This person has a digital permission and can travel to the UK.

Authority to Carry

The submission of advance passenger information (API) enables the operation of the UK's Authority to Carry Scheme 2023 (opens in new tab on GOV.UK).

Support

General support

For non-technical permission to travel related queries, please contact the UK Border Force Carrier Support Hub on 0300 369 0610 or +44 204 619 6020 from outside the UK.

Technical support

For technical queries relating to the Submit a General Aviation Report (GAR) service, please contact the Submit a GAR support team by emailing us at: GARSupport@Homeoffice.gov.uk.