How much does a UK ETA cost?
£20 to the Home Office. That is the whole official price, and you can pay it yourself.
The official fee
A UK Electronic Travel Authorisation costs £20 per person, paid to the Home Office. The fee rose from £16 to £20 on 8 April 2026. There is no application centre charge, no biometrics appointment and no health surcharge — £20 is the entire government cost, and it is the same whether you apply on GOV.UK or in the official UK ETA app.
One ETA covers unlimited trips for 2 years, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Each traveller needs their own, including babies.
The same ETA covers Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man as well as the United Kingdom, and has done since 9 April 2026. There is no separate authorisation for the Crown Dependencies and no second fee — if a website offers to sell you one for Jersey, it is selling you something that does not exist.
Checked against GOV.UK guidance on 2026-10-12.
What we charge on top, and why
| Item | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Official Home Office fee | £20 | UK Home Office |
| Our service fee (optional) | £29 | UK ETA Gateway |
| Total through us | £49 | — |
| Total if you apply yourself | £20 | UK Home Office |
We never mark up the government fee. We pay the £20 to the Home Office on your behalf and it appears as a separate line on your receipt, so you can see exactly what went where.
If you see a lower price, check the date
Plenty of sites still advertise the UK ETA at £10 or £16. Those were the launch and interim fees; both are obsolete. A site quoting them has not been updated since before 8 April 2026, which tells you something about the rest of its advice.
Is the fee refundable?
The Home Office fee is not refundable, including when an application is refused — that is government policy and no agency can change it. Our own fee is governed by our refund policy, and we return it if we fail to file correctly.