How to Handle Uk Eta Application Cost

A useful ETA budget starts with the number of people who actually need an authorisation, not simply the number of seats booked. A family may include a British dual citizen, a person with UK immigration permission and someone travelling on a passport that requires a visa. Those are not all GBP 20 ETA cases.

This guide separates the official application fee from optional services, currency conversion and later applications. It is general information, not individual immigration or payment-dispute advice. Check GOV.UK's current application page before paying.

The official fee and where to pay it

It costs GBP 20 to apply online or through the official UK ETA app. Start from GOV.UK and follow its links to the application service or app stores. An unofficial site may offer assistance and charge more, but another website or app cannot get you a faster decision.

Do not judge the price solely by an advert's headline. Before entering payment details, check who operates the service, what total is being charged, which currency is used and whether optional assistance is included. This article does not claim every intermediary has the same price, legal status or terms.

The official fee is the amount for applying; payment is not a guarantee of approval or entry. An ETA is not a general work permit, a visa or a purchase of the right to live in the UK.

Family and group calculations

Every person who needs an ETA needs their own, including babies and children. There is no shared authorisation that puts children on a parent's ETA. Check each traveller's nationality, other citizenship and existing permission before calculating a total.

These are arithmetic examples, not reports of named families or promises about their decisions. They exclude payment-provider charges and any unrelated visa, passport or travel costs. A future application will be charged at the fee in force then, not necessarily today's fee.

When you should not pay for an ETA

British and Irish citizens cannot obtain an ETA, including dual citizens using another passport. Existing UK visas and permission to live, work or study in the UK are also among the exemptions. Check the official exemption page for the complete rules, including conditional arrangements for people living in Ireland.

If you transit through a UK airport without passing border control, the current airside exemption means no ETA is needed for that transit. Ask the airline whether your actual itinerary remains airside. Collecting baggage, changing airports or connecting to a domestic flight can change the answer. Do not buy an unnecessary ETA as a substitute for checking the route.

An ETA exemption does not automatically settle every transit-visa requirement for every passport. A person whose nationality requires a visa should use the official checker rather than buying the cheaper ETA and hoping it will work. Our transit guide explains why those are separate questions.

Local currency, card conversion and the final amount

The fee is stated as GBP 20 on GOV.UK, but it is misleading to say the app can only take a sterling payment. The official app guide says it shows a price in the local currency for your country and you can change which currency you pay in.

Check the checkout amount and currency before confirming. Your bank or payment provider may apply conversion or other charges according to its own terms. There is no reliable permanent USD, CAD, EUR or AUD equivalent that a travel article can promise. A converted total from a past example is not a current quote.

The listed payment methods include credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Your bank may request additional authentication. If a payment attempt seems to fail, check the official service's response and your payment records rather than repeatedly submitting new applications without understanding what happened.

Refunds and an unexpected card charge

GOV.UK says you cannot get a refund after applying. Do not budget on recovering the application fee because plans change, an authorisation is unused or a fresh application becomes necessary.

A disputed card transaction is a different issue from asking for the application fee back. If you see an unexpected or apparently duplicate charge, keep the transaction details and contact the relevant provider or official support route. The guidance reviewed here does not establish a guaranteed duplicate-payment refund, deadline or automatic remedy, so this article does not promise one.

If payment went to an intermediary rather than the official service, check that provider's identity and terms. GOV.UK's application-fee rules do not by themselves determine whether a separate private service charge can be recovered.

When another application means another budget item

An ETA lasts two years or until the passport used to apply expires, whichever is sooner. A changed passport requires a new ETA. Review passport renewal plans before applying, especially if the current document is close to expiry; do not assume the remaining ETA period transfers to the replacement passport.

GOV.UK also says you need to apply again if an application is rejected or you need to change its details. Check the passport details and answers before submission. Our form guide explains the review points without claiming a post-payment edit feature.

If you already have an ETA on the unchanged passport, use the official existing ETA checker to check whether you have one and when it expires. A new holiday is not by itself a reason to pay again. The checker is not a way to track a recent application still awaiting a decision.

Do not pay extra for a promised instant decision

Official guidance says a decision usually arrives by email within a day, but can take up to three working days. Wait for the email confirming an ETA before travelling. A payment receipt or a rapid form-filling service is not an approval.

Another website or app cannot obtain a faster decision. Avoid treating an advertised processing package as a Home Office priority service. Apply with time to spare, and do not base travel plans on a promise that every nationality or family member will be approved in minutes.

If three working days pass without a decision, check spam or junk mail before following the official UKVI contact route. Submitting another paid application is not the published first troubleshooting step for a missing decision email.

ETA cost versus a visa: check the route before comparing prices

A visitor visa and an ETA are different routes, not interchangeable products chosen by the lowest price. Nationality, purpose, existing status and personal circumstances determine which route is appropriate. Visa fees and decision guidance should be checked on the relevant official visa page rather than copied from an older comparison table.

Do not assume an ETA refusal guarantees a visa, or that paying a visa fee settles the concern behind a refusal. Read the decision and official instructions; obtain regulated advice where your circumstances are unclear.

Key takeaways

• Budget GBP 20 for each person who actually needs a new ETA application.
• Check exemptions before paying, including airside transit and British or Irish citizenship.
• Read the checkout currency and your payment provider's terms rather than relying on fixed foreign-currency estimates.
• The application fee is not refundable after applying; do not promise a refund for a disputed charge without separate evidence.
• Check an existing ETA before paying again, and allow for a new application when the passport changes.