UK government confirms free entry to 15 national museums — plans for foreign-visitor tickets dropped

The British government has confirmed that entry to the country’s 15 national museums will remain free for everyone — abandoning plans to introduce tickets for international visitors.

The announcement was made by Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), at an event organized by Art Fund and the Cultural Policy Unit at Tate Liverpool on September 28, 2026, as FAD Magazine reports.

The decision comes on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the policy of universal free entry to national museums’ permanent collections, introduced on December 1, 2001.

Earlier this year, the government had said it would explore the possibility of charging international visitors, at a time when museums face growing financial pressures. Museum leaders and sector organizations warned, however, that such a move could hit visitor numbers, access and the visitor economy.

The 15 DCMS-sponsored museums offering free entry to permanent collections include the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate, V&A, Wallace Collection, Imperial War Museums, Royal Museums Greenwich, Science Museum Group, Sir John Soane’s Museum and National Museums Liverpool.

According to government figures, in the 2024/25 financial year the sponsored museums and galleries recorded 42 million visits, while self-generated income reached £563 million — evidence, according to supporters of the policy, that free entry does not hinder the institutions’ financial sustainability.

Support for the decision came from Cultural Policy Unit director Alison Cole, as well as the directors of the national museums, including Tristram Hunt, Nicholas Cullinan and the National Gallery’s Gabriele Finaldi, who called free entry a great cultural asset.