The cost of Britain’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) – the digital permit now required from most visa-exempt visitors – will jump from £16 to £20 from tomorrow, 8 April 2026. German travel portal McFlight.de, which broke the story yesterday, notes that the four-pound hike comes just six months after the scheme’s nationwide roll-out. The Home Office has not released a formal statement beyond confirming the new price in an updated fees table. Although the increase appears modest, it matters for volume traffic such as short-haul European tourists and multinational teams that transit via London hubs. A family of five now pays £100 instead of £80 for a two-year authorisation, eroding the appeal of quick city breaks that once relied on low-cost flights and friction-free entry. Airlines including easyJet and Ryanair told the UK Travel Retail Forum they expect a short-term spike in pre-8-April applications followed by a temporary booking lull. For corporates, the jump will raise cost-of-doing-business calculations. Sales and project staff from ETA-eligible countries – notably the United States, Australia, and much of Europe – frequently make multiple UK trips each year. While £20 remains cheaper than a standard visit visa, mobility teams must update budgets and educate travellers on the need to apply at least 72 hours before departure to avoid boarding refusals. The timing is delicate: the fee change coincides with the Easter travel rush and just two days before the EU introduces its own €7 ETIAS levy for British nationals visiting Schengen states. Travel industry bodies worry that consumers will perceive a tit-for-tat escalation in travel charges, discouraging discretionary trips and complicating multinational assignment planning. Employers are urged to review traveller profiles to determine whether a multi-year visit visa – whose price is also rising this week – offers better value for frequent flyers.
Source: McFlight.de
