Regulation Checked 10 September 2026 EU law text. Source
Which instrument sets the fee
This detail matters, because it is where most sources go wrong. The original 2018 ETIAS regulation set the fee at EUR 7. That figure was replaced by a later delegated act, which substituted the current amount into the same article. Pages that cite only the 2018 regulation are quoting a superseded number, and some still do.
Our fee figure cites the amending act, not the original. If you see EUR 7 quoted anywhere, that source has not been updated.
Who will be exempt from paying
There will be three exemptions, and they are exemptions from the fee only.
| By age | Applicants under 18 years or above 70 years of age at the time of the application. |
|---|---|
| Family members of EU nationals | Family members of an EU national who meet the conditions to qualify for family member status. |
Regulation Checked 10 September 2026 EU law text. Source
An exempt applicant will still need a travel authorisation. The exemption removes the payment, not the requirement. The legacy version of this page listed only the two age bands and missed the family member exemption entirely.
What the fee will cover
A single application, checked against the relevant EU databases, resulting in a travel authorisation valid for multiple entries. Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. There will be no separate charge per trip within that period, and no renewal fee before it ends.
The fee will not buy priority, and it will not buy a guarantee. Paying does not oblige anyone to approve an application, and an approved authorisation still does not guarantee entry at the border.
How it compares
Several countries run comparable pre-travel authorisation schemes. Each is priced in its own currency by its own government, and the figures below are taken from those governments' own pages rather than converted, because a conversion needs an exchange rate that no official source publishes and that goes stale within days.
| System | Fee | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| ETIAS (EU) | EUR 20 | Three years, or until the travel document used in the application expires, whichever comes first. |
| ETA (United Kingdom) | GBP 20 | Two years, or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. It permits multiple journeys, with stays of up to six months at a time. |
| eTA (Canada) | CAD 7 | Up to five years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. |
| ESTA (United States) | USD 40.27 | Typically two years, or until the applicant passport expires, whichever is sooner. |
Official source Checked 10 September 2026 EU or national government source. Source
The United States operates the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, ESTA, for travellers arriving under its Visa Waiver Program. The two ESTA figures above were missing from this table until recently. No US government source we could reach would state either, so the table showed a gap and said why, on the principle that a visible gap is more use to a reader than a number we have not checked. Both were read at US government sources on the date this page was last verified, and the gap is now closed.
It was worth the wait. The ESTA fee had moved, and the figure carried by the legacy version of this page was roughly half the current one. The UK figure on that same page was out of date too. Two of three comparison figures wrong is what happens to numbers that are copied once and never rechecked, which is the argument for the whole apparatus behind this site.
Each comparison system is covered in more depth, alongside the entry rules that go with it, in the guide for that nationality: US citizens, UK citizens and Canadian citizens.
Common questions
Can I pay now to get ahead of the queue?
No, and nobody can take that payment legitimately. ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. Sites charging today are charging for something that cannot be delivered. See avoiding ETIAS scams.
Will there be a refund if my application is refused?
The fee is charged per application rather than per approval. Budget on the basis that it is not refundable, and read the refusal and appeal route on the main explainer.
Will I pay again for each trip?
No. One authorisation will cover multiple entries for its validity period. You will need a new one if you get a new passport, because the authorisation is tied to the travel document.
Do I pay in my own currency?
The fee is denominated in euros. What your card issuer charges you will depend on its own exchange rate and any card fee, neither of which the EU sets and neither of which we can state for you.
Last verified 10 September 2026. How we verify