Electronic Travel Authorisation: UK ETA, ETIAS and ESTA

Do you need an ETA, or a visa?

Start here, because getting this wrong means being turned away at check-in.

The UK ETA is for people who are already visa-exempt — nationals of around 84 countries including the US, Canada, Australia, the EU, Japan and the Gulf states. If you are from one of those countries, the ETA replaces nothing; it is a new step you did not previously have.

If you are a national of a visa-required country — India, Pakistan and many others — the ETA is not for you. You still need a Standard Visitor Visa, which is a different application, a different process, and a much higher fee. The visitor visa fee rose to £135 on 8 April 2026. Applying for an ETA when you need a visa will not help you, and you cannot get a refund.

Check which applies to you on the official GOV.UK tool before you do anything else.

The four systems

System	To visit	Status	Cost	Valid
UK ETA	UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man	Live, enforced	£20	2 years
ETIAS	30 European countries	NOT live — Q4 2026	€20	3 years
ESTA	United States	Live	$40	2 years
eTA	Canada	Live	CAD $7	—

None of these is a visa. They are pre-travel screening checks for people who are already visa-exempt, linked electronically to the passport. And none of them guarantees entry — a border officer still decides.

The UK ETA: live, and now strictly enforced

It costs £20 per person, and every traveller needs their own — including babies and children. There is no family discount and no group application. A family of four pays £80.

Apply through the official UK ETA app or on GOV.UK. Nowhere else. Other websites charge more for the identical outcome, and some travellers have paid £50 or more for a £20 application they could have completed themselves in ten minutes.

Most decisions arrive within minutes through the app. Allow up to three working days. Wait for the approval email before you travel — the authorisation is linked to the passport you applied with, and you must travel on that same passport.

The enforcement matters now. Since 25 February 2026, carriers must refuse boarding to anyone who requires an ETA and does not have one. This is not a check that happens on arrival. It happens at the airport before you fly, and the airline will not let you on.

The airside transit exemption

You do not need a UK ETA if you are changing planes and never pass through UK border control. If your connection keeps you airside, you need nothing.

If your connection requires you to clear immigration — to collect and re-check a bag, or because the airport routes you through — then you are passing through border control and you need an ETA.

This exemption was a late change and the UK government has said it is keeping it under review, so check it close to your travel date rather than relying on a guide from last year.

ETIAS is not live. Anyone selling it to you is scamming you.

This is the most important thing on this page.

As of July 2026, the ETIAS application portal is not open. The system does not exist yet. There is nothing to apply for. Any website currently accepting ETIAS applications is fraudulent — and there are many of them, charging €50 to €100 or more in invented "service fees" for a document they cannot possibly issue.

When ETIAS launches, there will be exactly one official place to apply: travel-europe.europa.eu/etias, plus an official EU app. If a site is not on that domain, it is not the EU.

If you are travelling to Europe today, you need nothing beyond your passport. That is the whole answer.

The €7 figure you have read is out of date

Most articles about ETIAS still quote a €7 fee. That number is more than a year old.

The European Commission confirmed in July 2025 that the fee will be €20, citing inflation, operational costs and alignment with comparable systems abroad. Travellers under 18 and over 70 are exempt from the fee — but they still have to complete an application.

A family of four with two adults and two children would pay €40 at launch: two adult fees, two free but mandatory applications.

The ETIAS timeline, and why to treat it sceptically

• Q4 2026 — launch. Exact date not announced; the EU has committed to at least six months' notice.
• Around April 2027 — mandatory, after a transitional period during which you can still travel without one.

ETIAS was originally planned for 2021. It is now five years late, largely because it depends on the EU's Entry/Exit System, which had to be built across 29 countries first. The EES became fully operational on 10 April 2026, which is what finally unblocked ETIAS.

Given a history of five delays, treat Q4 2026 as a target rather than a promise.

One trip, two authorisations

The UK is not in the Schengen Area. A UK ETA does not get you into Europe, and an ETIAS will not get you into the UK. If your trip includes London and Paris, you will eventually need both — two applications, two fees, two systems.

The UK ETA also does not cover Ireland, which has its own rules.

What to do right now

1. Check whether you need an ETA or a visa. Use the GOV.UK checker. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that gets them turned away.
2. Travelling to the UK and visa-exempt? Get the ETA. £20, the official app, ten minutes.
3. Transiting the UK airside only? You need nothing — but confirm your connection does not route you through border control.
4. Travelling to Europe before Q4 2026? Nothing. Your passport is enough.
5. Ignore every site offering to sell you an ETIAS. Without exception. The system does not exist yet.