News report | | 28-01-2026 | ±2 minutes reading time

The transition period following the introduction of the UK ETA will come to an end on 25 February. After that, no exceptions will be made and all travellers will need a valid ETA to enter the United Kingdom. On the other hand, the price of the ETA will increase for the second time since its introduction. Consular fees will rise from EUR 19 to EUR 23.

End of the UK ETA transition period

Since 2 April 2025, European travellers need to apply for an ETA to travel to the United Kingdom. After that date, there was a transition period of approximately 11 months that will end on 25 February 2026. From that date onwards, all travellers without exception will need valid ETA to travel to the United Kingdom. A total of 84 countries are currently eligible for the ETA UK.

Previous price increases

A few days after the ETA was introduced for European travellers, the British immigration service announced the first price increase in consular fees from EUR 11.50 to EUR 18.50.

An announcement from the British immigration service

The UK Immigration Service recently announced in a blog article that the prices for all services are regularly adjusted and that the price of the ETA will soon be increased to GBP 20 (EUR 23). This means that the prices for other services such as residence permits and physical visas may also increase. In addition, the ETA will soon also be mandatory for travel to Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. It is expected that the higher price will also apply to travel permits for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Apply for your ETA now and save money

Travellers who wish to visit the United Kingdom in the coming months for tourism, business or transit can already apply for their ETA. Once granted, the ETA is valid for up to two years and can be used for an unlimited number of trips to the United Kingdom. Each stay may last up to six months. On e-Visa.ie you can easily submit an application. In addition, you will find a clear explanation for each field to be filled in. After the application has been submitted, the ETA is usually issued within 3 days. If you need your ETA urgently you can submit an urgent application and you will receive the ETA within 6 hours on average.

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e-Visa.ie is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the United Kingdom ETA. e-Visa.ie is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a ETA directly with the immigration service (16 GBP per ETA, via apply-for-an-eta.homeoffice.gov.uk). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.ie, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 16 GBP in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as € 26,60 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous United Kingdom ETA was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.