A UK ETA costs £20, about $26, and the fee is nonrefundable after you apply.
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For travelers checking how much does an ETA cost for the UK before buying flights, the answer is fixed: £20 per person. At late-June 2026 exchange rates, that is roughly $26, before any card issuer currency fees.
The UK Electronic Travel Authorisation is a digital permission to travel, not a visa and not a promise of entry at the border. The fee matters because every eligible traveler pays it separately, including babies and children, and the payment is not returned once the application is sent.
UK ETA Cost For Visitors: What The Fee Covers
The UK ETA fee is £20 for each traveler, and that payment covers the application tied to one passport. An approved ETA can be used for repeated UK trips while it remains valid.
A UK ETA normally covers visits of up to 6 months for tourism, family visits, business visits, short-term study, and certain other visitor purposes. The permission lasts for 2 years or until the passport used for the application expires, whichever comes first.
The fee does not buy faster processing, border entry, travel insurance, airline boarding protection, or any paid service from a third-party site. A traveler still has to meet the UK visitor rules when they arrive.
What You Pay Compared With Common ETA Situations
UK ETA costs are easiest to understand as a per-passport charge. A family, group, or repeat traveler should budget from the number of people applying, not from the number of hotel rooms or flight tickets.
| ETA Cost Item | Current Amount Or Rule | Budget Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| One UK ETA application | £20 per person | About $26 before card issuer fees |
| Two adults | £40 total | About $53 for a couple |
| Family of four | £80 total | About $106 before card issuer fees |
| Baby or child | £20 each | Children do not share a parent’s ETA |
| Second UK trip on the same passport | No new ETA fee while valid | Useful for repeat visits within 2 years |
| New passport after approval | New £20 ETA needed | The ETA is linked to the passport used |
| Paid faster decision | No official paid upgrade | Another website or app cannot speed up UKVI |
| Refund after applying | No refund | Wrong details can turn into a lost fee |
A US traveler should budget the ETA as a small fixed entry cost, then leave a little room for the card’s foreign-transaction policy. A no-fee travel card may charge the clean converted amount, while some debit or credit cards add their own percentage.
Who Pays The UK ETA Fee?
Each person who needs a UK ETA pays the fee, including babies and children. One adult can apply for other people, but each traveler still receives a separate ETA linked to that traveler’s passport.
Most visa-free visitors need either an ETA or a visa before travel, depending on nationality and trip purpose. GOV.UK says travelers from the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, and certain other countries usually need an ETA rather than a visa for short visits.
Some travelers do not need an ETA, including people traveling on a British or Irish passport and people with permission to live, work, or study in the UK. Legal status can change the answer, so use the official checker before paying.
Can You Get A Refund?
The UK ETA fee is nonrefundable after the application is submitted. GOV.UK states on the official UK ETA application page that it costs £20 to apply online or through the UK ETA app and that refunds are not available after applying.
The refund rule is the main reason to slow down on the passport screen. The ETA is linked to the passport used in the application, so a typo, expired passport, or soon-to-be-replaced passport can create extra cost.
Before paying, check these details line by line:
- Passport number
- Name spelling and order
- Date of birth
- Passport expiry date
- Email address for the decision message
- Photo quality and face image rules
How Payment And Processing Work
The UK ETA application takes payment by credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay before the request is reviewed. A traveler applying online needs the passport, an email address, and a usable photo of the applicant’s face.
The UK ETA app can scan the passport and the applicant’s face with a phone camera. If the traveler is applying for someone who is not with them, the online route is usually the practical path because the applicant’s passport photo and face photo can be uploaded.
UKVI says decisions usually arrive by email within a day, but travelers should allow up to 3 working days. The approval email contains a 16-digit ETA reference number, and the traveler must wait for confirmation before heading to the UK.
Practical timing: apply before final travel week if possible, especially for a family group, a new passport, or a trip that starts on a weekend.
Where The ETA Fits In A UK Trip Budget
The UK ETA is a small fixed cost compared with flights and lodging, but it can still change the total for a group. A family of four should treat the ETA as an £80 line item before airline seats, hotel deposits, airport transfers, and museum tickets.
After the ETA fee is handled, lodging is usually the next major UK travel cost to compare, especially for London, Edinburgh, Bath, York, and peak summer weekends.
Use this once the entry-cost math is clear and you are ready to compare places to stay:
A traveler flying into London for a first UK trip should budget the ETA separately from the hotel search. That keeps the entry permission, airfare, and lodging decisions clean instead of mixing one fixed government fee with prices that change daily.
A Simple ETA Cost Verdict Before You Apply
Budget £20 per person for a UK ETA, apply through GOV.UK or the official UK ETA app, and allow up to 3 working days before travel. The fee is small for a solo traveler but noticeable for a family, and it cannot be recovered after submission.
Use this decision list before paying:
- Apply now if your passport is current, your UK trip is planned, and your nationality needs an ETA.
- Wait if you are about to renew your passport, since the ETA will attach to the old passport.
- Use the official route only if a site offers a faster decision for an added charge.
- Check visa rules instead if your trip is longer than a visitor stay or includes work that is not allowed under ETA visitor rules.
The clean budget answer is £20 per traveler, about $26 today. The safer travel answer is to pay only after checking the passport, the applicant details, and the official UK entry route for your nationality.
References & Sources
- GOV.UK.“Get an electronic travel authorisation to visit the UK: Apply for an ETA.”States the current ETA fee, refund rule, payment methods, processing timing, and validity period.