Will UK ETA and ETIAS Costs Rise in 2026?

If you're costing up a trip to the UK or Europe in 2026, here are the numbers that matter. The UK ETA costs £16 per person. The EU's ETIAS will cost €7 per adult, with under-18s and over-70s travelling free.

Neither fee has an announced increase for 2026. But there's a catch — the UK already put its ETA fee up by 60% in April 2025, and ETIAS hasn't opened for applications yet, so nobody can quote you a final price with total certainty.

This guide gives you the real figures, explains exactly how each fee can legally change, and shows what a family of four actually pays. It's general information rather than professional advice, so verify anything time-sensitive with the official sources before you pay.

What you'll pay in 2026: the numbers first

Let's skip the build-up. Here's what each scheme costs today, and what it covers.

Two things to note before you start budgeting. The UK ETA is charged per person, not per trip — a £16 ETA covers unlimited entries for two years. ETIAS works the same way, but over three years.

Both are tied to a specific passport, which matters more than most guides admit.

And the EES — the EU's new biometric border system that starts on 12 October 2026 — is completely free. If you've seen warnings that European travel is about to get pricier because of EES, that's wrong. EES is a border process, not a paid authorisation.

The UK ETA fee in 2026: £16 per person

The UK ETA costs £16. That's the whole fee. No service charge, no booking fee, no expedited option.

The Home Office confirmed the rise from £10 to £16 in the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, effective 9 April 2025.

If you applied before that date and paid £10, your ETA is still valid. You don't get charged the difference. A small mercy in a system where fees rarely go down.

What the £16 actually buys you

• Two years of travel — or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
• Unlimited entries during that period, for visits of up to six months at a time.
• Cover for tourism, business, study and transit through the UK.
• No separate fee per trip. Five trips to London on one ETA still costs £16.

That last point trips people up constantly. A frequent flyer who visits the UK four times a year pays £16 every two years, not £64. Set against a paid visa, the ETA is a rounding error.

Why the UK ETA went from £10 to £16

The Home Office raised the fee as part of its annual immigration fees update, which usually lands in the spring. The same exercise pushed visa fees up across the board. ETA applicants just felt it more because the percentage jump was steep — 60% in one go.

There was no consultation specific to ETA holders and no phase-in period. If you applied on 8 April 2025 you paid £10. On 9 April you paid £16.

That's how quickly these things move.

Part of the reasoning is straightforward: the ETA scheme costs money to run. Every application involves passport verification, security checks against UK watchlists, and integration with airlines' advance passenger data. At £10, the Home Office was effectively subsidising each check.

Does anyone get a discount or exemption?

No. The UK ETA has no age exemptions, no family rate, and no concessions for students or pensioners. A three-month-old baby needs their own ETA and pays the same £16 as an adult.

The only people who don't need one already have travel permission another way. That includes British and Irish citizens, anyone with a valid UK visa, and people with indefinite leave to remain or right of abode in the UK.

Worth flagging: the fee is per person. A family of four pays £64 before they've left the house. That's real money, and it's why getting the application right first time matters.

ETIAS in 2026: €7 per adult, free for children

ETIAS is the EU's travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors. It costs €7 per applicant aged 18 to 70. Under-18s and over-70s pay nothing.

The €7 fee is written into Article 18 of the ETIAS Regulation (EU) 2018/1240. It hasn't changed since the regulation was adopted, and no proposal to change it has been published.

When does ETIAS actually start?

This is where most 2026 cost guides fall apart. ETIAS is not live. You cannot apply for it today, and any website offering to 'process your ETIAS' right now is either confused or a scam.

The sequence is fixed: EES first, then ETIAS roughly six months after EES is fully operational. EES begins on 12 October 2026 and phases in over 180 days, reaching full operation around 10 April 2027.

Do the maths and ETIAS lands in 2027 rather than 2026. The EU has never confirmed a firm launch date, and it has slipped before. Treat any specific date you see online as an estimate, not a booking deadline.

Who pays €7 and who travels free

• Aged 18 to 70: €7 per person.
• Under 18: free — but you still need an approved ETIAS.
• Over 70: free — same rule, you still need the authorisation.
• EU, EEA, Swiss and Irish citizens: no ETIAS at all.
• UK citizens: yes, you'll need one post-Brexit.

Free doesn't mean automatic. A child still needs their own ETIAS application tied to their own passport. Skip it and they'll be stopped at the border regardless of the fee being zero.

Irish citizens are the exception UK travellers ask about most. Ireland isn't in Schengen and Irish passport holders keep EU free movement rights, so they sit outside the ETIAS system entirely.

Will the UK ETA fee rise again in 2026?

Short answer: no increase has been announced. As things stand, the fee is £16 and there's no published proposal to change it in 2026.

But the mechanism for raising it is straightforward, and it's worth understanding so you can spot a real change when one comes.

How UK immigration fees actually change

1. The Home Office decides on new fees, usually as part of a wider annual review.
2. New regulations — typically the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations — are laid before Parliament.
3. Parliament has 40 days to object under the negative resolution procedure.
4. If no objection is raised, the new fee takes effect on the date stated in the regulations.

In practice, fee increases land in the spring. April 2025 brought the ETA jump. If another rise comes in 2026, it will follow the same pattern and be published a few weeks in advance.

Our advice: if you're travelling in the first half of 2026 and you're eligible now, apply now. A valid ETA locks in your £16 for two years. There's no benefit to waiting — and a real risk if the fee moves.

Will the ETIAS fee rise in 2026?

Almost certainly not — for a simple reason. ETIAS isn't live, so there's nothing to raise.

The €7 fee can be changed, but only through a specific legal route. Under the ETIAS Regulation, the European Commission would need to adopt a delegated act to amend it. That process involves consultation and scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council.

It isn't something that happens quietly overnight.

There has been political chatter in Brussels about whether €7 is enough to fund the system long term. That's not the same as a proposal. No draft text, no timeline, no figure.

Be sceptical of headlines quoting a new ETIAS fee. The legislated number is €7. If that changes, it will change through a published delegated act, not a rumour.

ETA, ETIAS, EES and visas: how the four differ

These get muddled together constantly, and the confusion leads people to pay for things they don't need. Here's the clean version.

The important distinction: an ETA and an ETIAS are permissions you buy before you travel. EES is something that happens to you at the border, at no cost. And a visa is a much heavier process, with biometrics, documents and weeks of waiting.

If you're a visa national, none of this changes your situation. You'll still need a visa, and the ETA or ETIAS question doesn't apply to you.

Typical costs by scenario: what you'll actually pay

Fees sound abstract until you multiply them by your family. Here's what different trips cost at current rates. ETIAS figures assume it's live when you travel.

Sterling-to-euro conversions are illustrative at roughly €1 = £0.86. Check the rate when you pay, because card providers add their own margin.

The headline number to remember: a family of four visiting both the UK and Europe pays around £76 in travel authorisations. That's roughly the cost of a decent meal out. Not nothing — but not a barrier either.

Compare it to the visa route. A UK six-month standard visitor visa starts at around £127 per person. A Schengen visa costs €90 for adults, plus a possible visa centre fee.

If you're eligible for an ETA or ETIAS, you're saving hundreds on a family trip.

A worked scenario: the Hartleys' summer 2026 trip

Let's make this concrete. The Hartleys are a US family of four from Denver. Two adults, two children aged 9 and 14.

They're flying Denver to London in July 2026, spending five days in the UK, then taking the Eurostar to Paris for a week.

Here's their authorisation bill:

• UK ETA: 4 × £16 = £64. The children pay the same as the adults.
• ETIAS: 2 adults × €7 = €14. Both children are under 18, so free — but they still need approved authorisations.
• EES: free. On arrival in Paris they register fingerprints and a facial scan at the border. No charge.
• Total: about £76.

Now the twist. Dad's passport expires in March 2026, so he renews it in January. His existing UK ETA — bought in 2024 for a work trip — becomes invalid, because it's linked to the old passport number.

He applies again and pays £16 a second time. Total cost for him alone: £26 across two ETAs. Not a disaster, but entirely avoidable if he'd renewed the passport before applying.

Timing worked out fine. UK ETAs typically come back within 3 working days and often within minutes. They applied eight weeks before travel — plenty of margin.

The lesson: the ETA follows the passport, not the person. Renew your passport and you buy a new ETA, even if the old one has 18 months left on it.

What most guides get wrong about ETA and ETIAS costs

A lot of the cost content out there is recycled, outdated or just wrong. Here are the assumptions worth correcting.

"The UK ETA costs £10"

Outdated since 9 April 2025. It's £16. If a page still says £10 and hasn't been updated, treat everything else on it with suspicion.

"Children are exempt"

True for ETIAS, and only for ETIAS. The UK ETA has no age exemptions at all. A newborn needs one and pays £16.

"EES costs money"

It doesn't. EES is biometric registration at the border. No fee, no application form, nothing to buy.

It replaces passport stamping for non-EU travellers.

"You pay per trip"

No. Both systems charge once per authorisation. The UK ETA covers two years of unlimited entries. ETIAS covers three.

"ETIAS is a visa"

It isn't. It's pre-travel screening for people who don't need a visa. No embassy appointment, no bank statements, no weeks of waiting.

The application takes minutes.

"ETIAS launches in 2025"

That date has been and gone. Every previous ETIAS launch date has slipped. Anyone quoting a date with confidence — in either direction — is guessing.

"Third-party sites are faster"

They aren't. Both schemes have a single official channel. Third parties fill in the same form and charge you £50 to £100 for the privilege.

There's no faster lane to buy.

Edge cases: when you end up paying twice

Fee increases make headlines. The more common way travellers lose money is by paying for an authorisation that stops working. Here's where that happens.

You renew your passport

Both the UK ETA and ETIAS are tied to the passport you applied with. Renew the passport and the authorisation becomes invalid — even if it has years left on it.

This is the single most common reason people pay twice. Plan around your renewal date. If your passport expires within six months of your trip, renew it first, then apply for the ETA or ETIAS using the new number.

You hold two passports

Authorisations are linked to a specific document. If you're a dual national with both a US and an Australian passport, your ETA is only valid on the passport you applied with.

Travel on the other passport and you'll be denied boarding. If you might switch, you'll need a second authorisation. There's no discount for a second one.

You're transiting the UK

Airside transit through the UK isn't automatically exempt from the ETA. If you're a visa-exempt national changing planes at Heathrow on the way to Dubai, you'll generally need an ETA even if you never leave the terminal.

There are narrow exemptions — for example, some nationalities covered by the transit visa concession, and travellers who already hold a UK visa. Check the official guidance for your nationality before assuming you're covered.

You already hold a UK visa

If you have a valid UK visa, you don't need an ETA. Your visa covers you. Applying anyway wastes £16 — and it won't be granted, because the system will see your visa record.

You're an Irish citizen or resident

Irish citizens never need a UK ETA. Neither do people with right of abode or indefinite leave to remain. There are also specific Common Travel Area exemptions for some non-Irish nationals living in Ireland — worth confirming on the official site.

How long each application takes — and why there's no premium option

Processing speed is a cost question in disguise. If a slow decision forces you to rebook flights, that's a real expense. Here's what to expect.

• UK ETA: most decisions arrive within minutes, and the official guidance allows up to 3 working days. Apply at least 72 hours before travel as a minimum.
• ETIAS: the EU has said most applications will be processed automatically within minutes, with a small proportion referred to manual review taking up to 30 days.

There is no paid priority service for either. No fast-track fee, no concierge option, no way to jump the queue. If a site sells you one, you've bought nothing the official channel doesn't already give you.

The practical rule for both: apply at least a week before you fly, and longer if you have any history that might trigger a manual check. Previous visa refusals, a criminal record or a name that matches a watchlist will all slow things down.

What happens if you're refused — do you get the money back?

No. Fees for the UK ETA and ETIAS are non-refundable, whether the application succeeds or not.

That applies in every scenario. If your ETA is refused, you don't get the £16 back. If your plans change, no refund.

If you applied with the wrong passport number and need to reapply, you pay again.

The only exception in the UK system is where the Home Office makes an error or the fee was taken in duplicate. That's rare, and it requires you to request a refund through the official process.

An ETA refusal doesn't automatically stop you travelling. You can apply for a standard visitor visa instead, but that costs around £127 and involves documents, biometrics and a wait. Getting the ETA right first time is much cheaper.

Will there be a grace period when ETIAS starts?

The EU has indicated it won't switch ETIAS on overnight. The stated approach is a phased introduction, with a transition window during which travellers who haven't yet obtained an authorisation aren't automatically refused.

That's good news for anyone booking European travel in the early rollout months. But the details — how long the grace period lasts and exactly how it works at the border — haven't been finalised in public guidance.

Don't plan around a grace period you can't yet read in full. If ETIAS is live when you travel, get one. It costs €7 and takes minutes.

Other travel authorisations worth budgeting for

If your 2026 travel plans stretch beyond the UK and Europe, the costs stack up. Here's the wider picture.

Canada ETA

Canada charges CA$7 for an eTA, valid for up to five years. British passport holders need one for flying to or transiting through Canada. Our canada eta guide covers the full process, including what to do if you're refused.

If you're travelling specifically on a British passport, the canada eta for uk citizens page walks through the UK-specific steps and the rejections that catch people out.

Sri Lanka ETA

Sri Lanka's ETA system has changed repeatedly in recent years, including periods of free visa entry for some nationalities. Fees and eligibility shift often, so check before you book. Our sri lanka eta guide tracks the current position.

Australia ETA

Australia's subclass 601 ETA is available to UK passport holders through the official ETA app. The fee is modest — around AUD 20 — but app store surcharges and lookalike sites catch people out. Read our australia eta visa for uk citizens guide before you download anything.

US ESTA

The US ESTA currently costs about $21 and is valid for two years with multiple entries. Apply only through the official US government site. Third-party providers charge triple for the same form, and there is no legitimate faster route.

How to apply without paying more than you need to

Both systems are cheap if you use the official channels. They get expensive fast if you don't.

UK ETA: apply on gov.uk or the UK ETA app

1. Download the official UK ETA app, or go to the ETA page on gov.uk.
2. Scan your passport and your face — the app uses your phone's camera.
3. Answer the questions about your trip, employment and any criminal convictions.
4. Pay £16 by card.
5. Wait for the decision email, usually within 3 working days and often much faster.

There are no authorised agents, no rush service and no way to pay more for a faster answer. If a site offers 'priority ETA processing' for £75, that's a middleman filling in the same form.

ETIAS: one official site, and it isn't live yet

When ETIAS opens, the official route will be the EU's own site at travel-europe.europa.eu, plus a dedicated app. Nothing else is authorised.

Until then, don't pay anyone for one. If a site takes your money for 'ETIAS processing' today, you've bought nothing — the system literally cannot issue an authorisation yet.

Check gov.uk's ETA guidance and the official EU ETIAS site directly. Fees and requirements change, and these are the only sources that update in real time.

So, will costs rise in 2026? The honest answer

For the UK ETA, £16 is the price today and no rise has been announced. History suggests the Home Office revisits fees annually, so a 2026 increase isn't impossible — it's just not on the table right now.

For ETIAS, €7 is the legislated fee and the system isn't running. A pre-launch change is legally possible but politically unlikely, and it would be published well in advance.

What you control is how much you pay in total. Apply once per passport. Don't pay a third party.

Don't buy an ETIAS before it exists. And if your passport is close to expiring, renew it first — otherwise you'll pay twice for the same trip.

Key takeaways

• UK ETA: £16 per person, up from £10 on 9 April 2025. No 2026 increase announced.
• ETIAS: €7 per adult, free for under-18s and over-70s. Not yet open for applications.
• EES is free — it's a border process, not a paid authorisation. It starts 12 October 2026.
• Both authorisations are tied to your passport. Renew the passport and you pay again.
• No age exemptions for the UK ETA. Babies pay £16 like everyone else.
• A family of four going UK plus Schengen pays roughly £76 — far less than the visa route would cost.
• Apply only on gov.uk or travel-europe.europa.eu. Third-party processing sites charge multiples for the same form.
• Fees are non-refundable. If you're refused or your plans change, you don't get the money back.

See also: the UK ETA for US citizens