I made an expensive travel mistake recently, and I am sharing it because it is the sort of mistake that can happen to anyone, even someone who has spent decades reading travel rules, comparing prices, and generally trying not to hand money to strangers on the internet.
I applied for a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation because I will be traveling through London twice during my European trip this autumn. I searched online for the UK ETA and applied through a website that looked official.
The advertised cost was about £20, roughly $28 USD. That is the official government fee at the time of writing.
I received the UK ETA I needed. It should allow me to make multiple trips during its period of validity.
But there was a problem.
The website added a $200 processing fee. My $28 travel authorisation turned into a $228 charge.
I received the authorisation, but I paid roughly eight times what it actually costs. The $200 bought me nothing a traveler cannot get directly from the British government in about ten minutes.
The mistake was not applying for the ETA. The mistake was using the wrong website.
What is a UK ETA?
A UK ETA is a digital travel authorisation for travelers who do not usually need a visa to visit the United Kingdom. It is not a visa.
It normally allows multiple visits of up to six months each during a period of two years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. The ETA is linked electronically to the passport used during the application.
The official government fee is currently £20, which is approximately $28 USD, depending on the exchange rate. Fees can change, so I recommend checking the current price on the official GOV.UK ETA page before applying.
An ETA does not guarantee entry. It simply gives you permission to travel to the UK, where normal border requirements still apply.
Do I need an ETA if I am connecting through London?
This is where the details matter.
If I am changing planes in the UK and remain airside without passing through UK border control, I generally do not need an ETA.
If I pass through border control, for example, if I leave the secure transit area, collect and recheck luggage, change airports, stay overnight, or otherwise enter the UK: I need to check whether an ETA is required.
The official guidance says I need an ETA if I am passing through border control at a UK airport before continuing my journey. If I am unsure, I should ask my airline before traveling.
Because my European itinerary takes me through London twice, I decided to confirm my requirements rather than discover the answer at the airport with luggage in one hand and a boarding pass in the other.
How the third-party website caught me
The website appeared near the top of my search results and looked professional. It used language that suggested it was an official application service.
That is the danger.
A site does not need to look suspicious to be expensive. Some third-party websites use official-looking colors, government-related words, photographs of passports, and urgent instructions. They can appear before the genuine government website in search results, especially when advertisements are involved.
The warning signs include:
- The site does not end in .gov.uk
- It appears as an advertisement or sponsored search result
- It uses urgent language such as “apply immediately” or “avoid travel delays”
- It describes a large “processing,” “service,” or “administration” fee
- The real total appears only near the end of the application
- It claims to provide faster approval
- It suggests it is the official government application site without actually being one
The simple rule I should have followed is this:
If the website is asking for substantially more than the government fee, it is not the government.
A third-party company can submit an application on someone’s behalf, but that does not make it a government service. In my case, the extra $200 was not buying a better ETA, a faster ETA, or a more valid ETA. It was simply an expensive middleman fee.
How to apply for the UK ETA directly
This is the process I should have followed, and the process I recommend.
1. Start at the official government address
Type this address directly into your browser:
Do not begin with an advertisement in a search engine. Do not click a result simply because the page looks official.
The official government overview is:
I can also apply using the official UK ETA app. The government page links to the official versions for both Google Play and the Apple App Store.
2. Check whether I need an ETA
The requirement depends on my nationality, travel purpose, immigration status, and itinerary.
I should use the government’s visa and ETA checker if I am uncertain. I should pay particular attention to whether I will pass through UK border control during a connection.
Every traveler who needs an ETA must have an individual authorisation, including children and infants.
3. Gather my documents
Before beginning, I need:
- The passport I will use for travel
- An email address I can access
- A credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay
- A digital photograph of the passport page
- A photograph of my face
If I use the app, the phone camera can help scan the passport and take the required photograph. If I apply online, I will upload the images.
4. Complete the application
I need to enter my passport information and personal details, then answer the suitability and security questions.
I should take my time and check every passport number, name, date, and expiration date before submitting. A small typing error in a travel document is not the sort of surprise I want at check-in.
5. Pay the government fee
The official fee is currently £20, approximately $28 USD.
That is the whole government cost.
The official application page states that applying through another website does not produce a faster decision. If a site adds a $200 “processing fee,” I am paying the website, not the UK government.
6. Wait for the decision
The government says I will usually receive a decision by email within one day, but it can take up to three working days.
I should apply at least three working days before traveling. I should also check my junk or spam folder if the decision does not appear.
I should not travel until I receive the email confirming that the ETA has been granted.
7. Save the reference number
The approval email contains a 16-digit ETA reference number.
I should save the email, take a screenshot, or write the number somewhere secure. The ETA is linked to the passport I used for the application, so I must travel with that same passport.
8. Check the ETA online
I can check whether my ETA is active and when it expires at:
This is especially useful if I applied some time ago or have several travel dates ahead.
The ETA lasts for two years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If I renew or replace my passport, I generally need to apply for a new ETA.
What if I have already been overcharged?
First, I should check whether the ETA was genuinely issued and linked to my passport. If it was, the authorisation itself remains useful. The inflated fee does not automatically cancel the ETA.
The money is a separate problem.
I should:
- Save screenshots of the website, receipt, confirmation emails, and the charge.
- Contact my credit card company or bank promptly.
- Explain that the site appeared to represent itself as an official government service and added an unexpected processing fee.
- Ask whether the charge, or at least the unexpected portion, can be disputed.
- Report the website through the UK government’s visa and immigration scam reporting guidance.
- Report suspicious websites to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre.
- Report the matter to the relevant fraud-reporting service in my own country.
If I am in the United States, I can also report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
I should never send additional money to a company promising a refund or claiming it can “unlock” my application. That is often how one bad charge grows a small family of bad charges.
My lesson from the $228 ETA
I got the permission I needed, but I paid far too much for it.
The $200 processing fee taught me a $28 lesson: type the government address yourself, use GOV.UK or the official UK ETA app, and check the total before paying.
I am not sharing this story because applying for a UK ETA is complicated. It is not. I am sharing it because a polished website and a prominent search position can make a private company look official.
My recommendation is simple. Start at GOV.UK/eta, confirm the current fee, apply directly, and keep the extra money for the trip.
I can think of much better uses for $200 in London. Even the airport sandwich has to work hard to cost that much.
For more practical travel advice, I also keep a collection of ideas for easy travel beginning at 60.