Travellers planning short trips to Britain will pay more for permission to board from next week after the Home Office confirmed a 25 per cent price hike for the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). An industry advisory published on 22 February 2026 by immigration specialists **VisaETA UK** notes that the fee will increase from £16 to £20 on 25 February, when the scheme becomes mandatory for citizens of all 85 visa-exempt countries. The Home Office says the rise keeps the programme “self-funding” as it scales up biometric vetting, carrier connectivity and customer-service infrastructure.
![UK Electronic Travel Authorisation fee rises to £20 ahead of full enforcement]()
For travellers or employers who prefer a streamlined, one-stop route to compliance, VisaHQ’s dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can submit ETA applications in bulk, track real-time status updates and issue renewal reminders, easing the administrative load on busy travel desks.
The ETA, valid for two years, allows unlimited visits of up to six months but does not confer work rights. For corporates the immediate impact is administrative rather than financial: travel managers must update booking systems, per-diem budgets and employee guidance in time for the switchover on Tuesday. Carriers’ ‘permission-to-travel’ systems will reject passengers whose ETA is unpaid, creating a hard boarding stop similar to the US ESTA. Although £20 remains cheaper than comparable schemes—the US ESTA costs around £18 and the impending EU ETIAS €7—the jump has prompted questions in Parliament about cumulative fee inflation across the border system. Trade bodies representing the conference and events sector worry that last-minute inbound delegates could be caught out until awareness improves. The government counters that digital pre-clearance will cut queues and reduce abuse of the visitor route. Employers with frequent inbound travellers are advised to bulk-upload staff details to the ETA carrier portal and remind guests to link new passports to their UKVI account whenever they renew documents.
For travellers or employers who prefer a streamlined, one-stop route to compliance, VisaHQ’s dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can submit ETA applications in bulk, track real-time status updates and issue renewal reminders, easing the administrative load on busy travel desks.
The ETA, valid for two years, allows unlimited visits of up to six months but does not confer work rights. For corporates the immediate impact is administrative rather than financial: travel managers must update booking systems, per-diem budgets and employee guidance in time for the switchover on Tuesday. Carriers’ ‘permission-to-travel’ systems will reject passengers whose ETA is unpaid, creating a hard boarding stop similar to the US ESTA. Although £20 remains cheaper than comparable schemes—the US ESTA costs around £18 and the impending EU ETIAS €7—the jump has prompted questions in Parliament about cumulative fee inflation across the border system. Trade bodies representing the conference and events sector worry that last-minute inbound delegates could be caught out until awareness improves. The government counters that digital pre-clearance will cut queues and reduce abuse of the visitor route. Employers with frequent inbound travellers are advised to bulk-upload staff details to the ETA carrier portal and remind guests to link new passports to their UKVI account whenever they renew documents.
