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 when something is introduced and BOOM, the price increases just a coupla months later and then… increases AGAIN, less than a year after that.
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, by the fall of 2024, the ETA program had been expanded to include citizens from every country that wasn’t required to have a visa to enter the UK – including those of us from the United States.
Price increases through the years
The ETA originally cost £10. But by spring of 2025, the price had increased by 60%, to £16.
And now? It’s going up again.
The UK’s Home Office website reports that the price for an ETA will be going up again. The increase will be 25% this time, bringing the total to £20 (about $27.39 USD). That’s a 100% increase since the program was launched 3 years ago.
The Home Office doesn’t say why the price is increasing, nor exactly when the increase will happen. Their only comment about it is, “As with all our fees the cost of an ETA is kept under review, and we intend to increase the cost of an ETA to £20 in the future. We will provide more information in due course.”
Well, OK then.
Still easy to get
If nothing else, getting an ETA is an easy process. From the Home Office:
How do people apply for an ETA?
- The easiest way to apply for an ETA is through the ‘UK ETA app’, which can be downloaded from Google Play or Apple App Store. People can apply on GOV.UK if they do not have access to a smartphone.
- Applying for an ETA is quick and simple. Most applicants currently get an automatic decision in minutes when applying through the UK ETA app.
- It is recommended that people apply for an ETA at least three working days in advance of travel, to take account of the small number of cases which may need further review.
- To apply for an ETA, individuals need to:
- Pay the fee
- Provide contact and passport details
- Provide a valid photo, complying with the rules for digital photos on GOV.UK
- Answer a set of suitability and criminality questions
- Individuals must travel using the same passport they used when they applied for an ETA.
Further information on how to apply before coming to the UK is available on GOV.UK
And don’t forget our words of advice about paying for your ETA in USD – it can make a difference in your final cost.
It could be worse
I suppose the price increase could have been worse – the ESTA (Electronic System Travel Authorization) that the US requires of visa-exempt international visitor just nearly DOUBLED, from $21 to $40 per person, this past July. And that’s to say nothing about the US government’s most recent proposal – the State Department said it would like to conduct “online presence” reviews for applicants and their dependents for citizens from the 42 countries that belong to the visa waiver program to be able to visit. From NPR:
Those foreign citizens would now have to submit five years’ worth of their social media activity to be considered for entry.
They’d also have to provide emails they have used for the past 10 years, as well as phone numbers and home addresses of immediate family members. Officials would also be able to scrutinize IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos.
CBP says the measure would be, “to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.” However, they have yet to explain what exactly would be considered a threat that we, US citizens, would need to be protected from.
But for us to visit the UK? A 25% increase and that’s it.
I’ll take it.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
