ETA, visitor visa or student visa: which one you need, and what each costs
An ETA costs £20, a Standard Visitor visa £135, and a Student visa £558. Long-term visitor visas run £506 for 2 years to £1,128 for 10 — but none of them lets you stay longer than 6 months per visit.
Three routes cover almost every short stay in the United Kingdom. They are not alternatives you pick between on price. Which one applies to you is decided first by your nationality and then by what you intend to do.
| ETA | Standard Visitor visa | Student visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official fee | £20 | £135 | £558 |
| Length of stay | Up to 6 months | Usually up to 6 months | Length of your course |
| Apply from | Any time before travel | 3 months before travel | 6 months before your course |
| Usual decision | Often minutes; allow 3 working days | Varies by country | About 3 weeks from outside the UK |
| Valid for | 2 years, or until the passport expires | The dates granted | The course, plus a short period |
You do not choose between an ETA and a visitor visa
This is the single most common misunderstanding, and it costs people money. Your nationality determines which applies. If you are from a country whose nationals need an ETA, you cannot apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead in the hope of a smoother ride, and if you need a visa, no ETA will substitute for it — an application would simply be refused, and the fee is not refunded.
An ETA is not a visa. It is digital permission to travel, tied to the passport you applied with, allowing multiple journeys of up to six months over two years.
How long a visitor visa lasts, and what each length costs
The £135 visa is the one almost everybody applies for, but it is one of six. If you come to the United Kingdom regularly you can buy validity in advance, and the arithmetic is not obvious.
| Visa | Fee | Maximum stay |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Visitor | £135 | 6 months |
| Standard Visitor — medical treatment | £234 | 11 months |
| Standard Visitor — academics | £234 | 12 months |
| Long-term, 2 years | £506 | 6 months per visit |
| Long-term, 5 years | £903 | 6 months per visit |
| Long-term, 10 years | £1,128 | 6 months per visit |
Read the third column before the second. A long-term visa does not let you stay longer — the limit is still six months per visit. What you are buying is the right to keep arriving without applying again.
When a long-term visa is worth it, and when it is not
At £135 a visit, the break-even points are further out than most people assume:
- 2 years, £506 — worth it from about the fourth visit. Travelling twice in two years costs £270 on single visas, so the two-year visa is nearly twice the price for the same two trips.
- 5 years, £903 — worth it from about the seventh visit.
- 10 years, £1,128 — worth it from about the ninth visit, and it is only £225 more than the five-year. If you already expect to qualify for the five-year, the extra five years work out at £45 each.
Two things push in favour of the longer visa beyond the raw arithmetic. Fees rise, and buying validity fixes today's price for the whole term. And every fresh application is a fresh opportunity to be refused, whereas a long-term visa is decided once.
A long-term visa is not a back door to living in the UK. It permits repeat visits, not residence. Spending most of the year in the country on consecutive six-month visits is precisely the pattern a Border Force officer looks for, and holding a ten-year visa is no protection — you can be refused entry at the border on any single trip, and the visa can be cancelled.
Study on a visitor route: the six-month line
You may study in the United Kingdom as a Standard Visitor, but only on a course lasting up to six months. Beyond that you need a Student visa. The same six-month limit applies on an ETA.
The Student visa is a substantially heavier application: £558 against £135, a confirmed place from a licensed sponsor, evidence of funds, and about three weeks for a decision from outside the UK. Applications from inside the UK take about eight weeks. Applying six months ahead is allowed and, for an autumn course, sensible.
If transit is the only reason you are coming
There is a cheaper route people miss. Where a visa is required and you are only passing through, a Visitor in Transit visa costs £74.50 rather than £135. It exists solely for travellers whose entire purpose is to cross the UK to somewhere else.
What none of them guarantees
Not one of these documents guarantees entry. A Border Force officer decides that at the border, and can refuse someone holding a perfectly valid ETA or visa. What these documents buy is the right to travel and to be considered — not admission.
Checked against the official sources below on 3 September 2026.