Travel to the UK has become more expensive: ETA permit now costs £16

Are you planning a sightseeing trip to London or a trip to the mystical atmosphere of Scotland this year? Then we have an important update for you. We told you about the introduction of ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) in our previous article, but the system is constantly evolving. The end of February 2026 brought full go-live and with it an unpleasant change in pricing.

Here is an overview of what this means for you as a tourist and what to prepare for.

From £10 to £16: What exactly is changing?

The biggest news for travellers is the increase in the fee. When the British government originally introduced the ETA system, the fee was £10.

• New price: the application processing fee has now been increased across the board to £16 (approx. CZK 480).
• Sharp traffic: in addition, any period of benevolence ended from the end of February 2026. Airlines now check permissions before departure – you simply won’t be allowed on the plane without an approved ETA.

Is anything else changing?

The good news is that the permit conditions themselves remain the same. Once paid, your ETA is still valid for 2 years (or until the end of your passport if it expires sooner) and entitles you to re-enter the country. If you fly to the UK more often, you don’t need to reapply before each trip. (And a little extra tip: the UK government has already announced that the price will rise to £20 in the future, so if you get your ETA now, you’ll lock in the current price of £16).

Checklist: what do you need to complete the application?

Processing is purely online and the easiest way is to download the official UK ETA app to your mobile phone. To make sure you don’t get held up when filling it in, have the following things physically to hand:

• A valid biometric passport: you will need a physical form, not just a copy.
• Smartphone with NFC and camera: The app prompts you to take a photo of the data page of your passport. You will then need to put your phone to your passport for the app to read the biometric chip using NFC (similar to paying with your mobile phone).
• Your face: The app asks you to take a recent selfie, which it compares with the photo in your passport chip.
• Payment card: £16 to pay the fee (Apple Pay or Google Pay can also be used).
• Email address: you will receive an approval confirmation here.

Discover Britain without stress with our itineraries

Despite this bureaucratic hurdle and the slight increase in price, the UK is a destination not to be missed. To make your trip as worthwhile as possible and to make sure you don’t waste time on complicated planning, we’ve put together complete itineraries for you on Retkee.

• London in the footsteps of Harry Potter for 3 days by Peter
• A long weekend in Edinburgh, the heart of Scotland by Martin and Tina

Don’t let the paperwork put you off, unlock our itineraries, sort out your ETA using our checklist and start packing! With Retkee+ you get all current and future guidebooks and other benefits.