The United Kingdom has quietly increased the price of its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from £16 to £20, effective for all applications lodged on or after 8 April 2026. Travel and Tour World, confirming Home Office figures, calculates that the four-pound hike represents a 25 % rise in under 18 months. Although £20 sounds modest, the impact multiplies quickly for multinational employers that move project teams in and out of Britain. A single eight-person consultancy squad making ten ETA-covered trips each year will now spend an extra £320 annually. Large mobility programmes that previously absorbed the £16 fee may need to revisit cost-sharing policies with clients and assignees. The ETA is already mandatory for nationals from the Gulf, Jordan and Bahrain, and from 25 February the UK began enforcing a strict “no permission, no travel” rule for the remaining 80-plus visa-exempt countries, including the United States, Canada and the EU. Airlines are fined for boarding passengers without a valid ETA, so the higher cost is unavoidable. Officials tie the increase to inflation and the expense of rolling out a fully digital border. Critics argue the timing—just days before the EU’s own EES went live—risks perception that the UK is pricing itself out of short-term business visits. The fee remains lower than the US ESTA (US $21) but now outstrips the planned €7 ETIAS charge for Europe. Companies should update pre-trip approval tools, ensure travel-management systems trigger the new payment amount and remind staff that ETAs must now be in place before airport check-in.
Source: Travel and Tour World
