We (2 U.S. citizens) arrived in the Outer Hebridies in August 2025 after an 11 day passage from Newfoundland. Clearance was as described here at Noonsite. There are a few things to watch out for:

* You will want to complete the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) before starting to file the pleasure craft arrival report; the reporting process checks ETA status for each person on board.

We used the ETA app on a phone to obtain authorization. The process requires use of the phone’s camera to get pictures of the passport pages and of the actual associated person. Our biggest challenge was finding a neutral background on our boat large enough for the photo!

* You should START the arrival report BEFORE you leave for the U.K. You can edit the arrival date later, but you can’t provide a departure date (leaving for the U.K.) earlier than the date on which you create the report. So create the report with an estimated arrival date and update it if necessary upon actual arrival.