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Reminder: Cost for UK Travel Just Increased 60%

a group of people waiting in line

06 Feb 2012, London, England, UK --- Feb. 6, 2012 - London, United Kingdom - Travellers at Heathrow Terminal 5 queue to have their passports checked at the UK Border. Flights have been delayed over the weekend due to snow, Monday February 6, 2012. Photo By Andrew Parsons/ i-Image. (Credit Image: © Andrew Parsons/ I-Images/i-Images) --- Image by © Andrew Parsons/ I-Images/ZUMA Press/Corbis

There’s an old saying that there are 2 things guaranteed in life – death and taxes. I think they should really change that to 3 things – death, taxes and price increases. And honestly, it’s not so much that some prices increase, as much as something is introduced and BOOM, the price increases just a coupla months later.

Case in point – the United Kingdom’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is a visa waiver (not a visa; here’s the difference between the two) that was introduced in 2023. At the time it was only required for inbound travelers from multiple Middle Eastern countries. However the UK government announced last fall that the ETA program would be expanded to include citizens from every country that wasn’t required to have a visa to enter the UK.

ETA Requirements Expand in 2025

The expanded program became a requirement for citizens of multiple countries, including the United States, as of January 8, 2025. People from the Schengen area of Europe were required to get an ETA to enter or transit through the UK as of April 2 of this year.

The ETA didn’t cost much; just £10 (currently just shy of $13 USD). However the price went up this past Wednesday, and it’s now £16 ($20.66 USD). That’s a whopping 60% increase in less than 3 months for dozens of countries and, for European nationals, in just a week.

Why the Sudden Hike?

The UK Home Office says that an ETA is simply “permission to travel to the UK” and is part of a broader plan, “…to improve border security and shift the funding for migration and border control services away from taxpayers.”

I understand the need to increase prices. But if the UK planned to increase the price of an ETA by 60%, wouldn’t it have made sense to do it when it was becoming a requirement for almost everyone, back in January? Not that £16 is a whole lot, but it feels more like a money grab when they quote one price and increase it 3 months (or just a week!) later.

How do I apply for an ETA?

You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play.

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