What is an ETA?
What an ETA actually is
An ETA, an Electronic Travel Authorisation or Electronic Travel Authority depending on the country, is a permission to travel that you apply for online before you fly. It exists for a narrower purpose than a visa. An ETA checks that you are who you say you are and that nothing on record stops you travelling, then clears you to board. It does not replace the passport control check you go through on arrival. A border officer still decides whether to let you in, exactly as they would for anyone else.
Most ETA schemes state directly that they are not visas. Applying is usually a short online form, decisions often arrive within minutes, and one authorisation covers multiple trips over its validity period rather than a single journey. Figures in this guide are as at September 2026.
How an ETA is different from a visa
The biggest difference is who can get one. An ETA is only available if your nationality already qualifies for visa-free or visa-waiver entry to that country. If it does not, an ETA is not an option for you at all, and you need to apply for a full visa instead, through the process set out for your nationality and purpose of visit.
For nationalities that do qualify, an ETA is lighter than a visa in almost every respect. You complete a short form yourself, rather than submitting supporting documents to an embassy or consulate. Most decisions are automated and returned in minutes to a few days, with no interview. The fee is a fraction of a visa fee. And one ETA is usually linked to your passport and covers every trip you make within its validity window, rather than being issued for one specific journey.
What an ETA does not change is the decision at the border itself. Every scheme below states plainly that holding an ETA does not guarantee entry. The authorisation confirms you were cleared to travel; the immigration officer at the border still assesses your entry on the day, the same as they would assess anyone else’s.
The main ETA schemes
United States: ESTA
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization screens travellers from the roughly 40 countries in the Visa Waiver Program, who can then visit the US for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa. ESTA is not a visa, and US Customs and Border Protection states this directly.
The fee is $40.27 for an approved application, or $10.27 if the application is refused. This is made up of a $17 travel promotion fee, $13 for the authorisation itself, and $10.27 for cost recovery, adjusted for inflation from $10 at the start of 2026 under fee provisions in the H.R. 1 reconciliation law. The fee had already risen from $21 to $40 in September 2025 under the same law, before this inflation adjustment.
An approved ESTA is valid for two years, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. A new passport means a new application, since the authorisation is linked to the passport number you applied with.
United Kingdom: ETA
The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation applies to most visitors from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada and a growing list of other nationalities, unless they already hold British or Irish citizenship or have permission to live, work or study in the UK. It is not a visa, and the Home Office presents ETA and visa as separate routes into the country.
The fee is £20. It covers multiple trips over two years, or until your passport expires if that comes first, and each visit on it can last up to 6 months. The Home Office advises applying at least three working days before you travel, though most decisions are automated. If you are only transiting through Heathrow or Manchester without passing through UK border control, you do not need an ETA for that transit.
Canada: eTA
Canada’s Electronic Travel Authorization applies to visa-exempt foreign nationals flying to Canada or transiting through a Canadian airport. It is not required if you are arriving by land, sea, bus or train, only by air.
The fee is CAD $7. It is valid for up to five years, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada states directly that an eTA does not guarantee entry: a border services officer still decides on arrival.
Australia: ETA, subclass 601
Australia’s Electronic Travel Authority works like the others in practice: you apply online, pay a small fee, and get a decision quickly rather than going through an embassy process. But Australia’s own government describes it as “an electronically stored authority equivalent to a visa”, and it carries a visa subclass number, 601. Unlike ESTA, the UK ETA, Canada’s eTA or ETIAS, Australia’s ETA is a visa. It is simply issued and held electronically rather than as a stamp or label in your passport.
The fee is AUD $20. It allows multiple entries for up to a year, or until your passport expires if sooner, with each stay limited to three months. It does not permit work in Australia.
The EU: ETIAS, not yet live
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System will apply to visa-exempt travellers visiting the 29 Schengen states plus Cyprus. Ireland is not part of it. Like the other schemes here, ETIAS is not a visa.
The fee will be 20 euro, raised from an original proposal of 7 euro by an EU regulation adopted in July 2025. It will be valid for three years, or until the passport used to apply expires, whichever comes first. Travellers under 18 or over 70 at the time of application are exempt from the fee, though still need the authorisation itself.
ETIAS is expected to launch in the last quarter of 2026, but no exact date has been confirmed and applications are not open yet. Until it starts, travellers from ETIAS-eligible countries can continue visiting the Schengen area visa free as they do now.
How to apply
Apply directly through the official government site or app for your destination. Each scheme has one official channel: esta.cbp.dhs.gov for the US, the UK ETA app or GOV.UK for the UK, the official eTA service at canada.ca for Canada, and homeaffairs.gov.au for Australia. Once ETIAS launches, its only official channel will be travel-europe.europa.eu/etias.
A number of unofficial sites replicate these application forms and charge more than the government fee for the same service. The European External Action Service, working with ABTA, has already identified more than 60 unofficial sites taking ETIAS applications before the scheme has even launched. Check the web address matches the official channel before you enter your passport details or pay a fee.
You do not need to apply far in advance. Most decisions on all five schemes above are automated and returned quickly, from minutes to a few days. The UK’s Home Office recommends applying at least three working days before you travel, mainly to leave room for the rare case where a decision takes longer or you are asked for more information.
If your nationality does not qualify for an ETA
None of this applies if your nationality is not on the visa-exempt or visa-waiver list for the country you are visiting. In that case there is no ETA option: you apply for the relevant visa instead, through that country’s normal visa process. An ETA only ever sits alongside an existing visa-free arrangement, it does not create one.
FAQs
Does having an ETA mean I am guaranteed to be let into the country?
No. Every scheme above states this directly. An ETA confirms you were cleared to travel before you flew. The immigration officer at the border still decides whether to admit you on the day.
Is an ETA the same thing as a visa?
Usually not. ESTA, the UK ETA, Canada’s eTA and ETIAS are all explicitly not visas. Australia is the exception: its ETA, subclass 601, is legally a visa, despite working the same way online as the others.
Can I work or study on an ETA?
No, in general. These schemes exist for short visits, usually tourism or business, and Australia’s ETA explicitly rules out work. Check the specific rules for your destination if your plans go beyond a short visit.
My passport expired and I got a new one. Is my old ETA still valid?
No. Every scheme in this guide ties the authorisation to the passport number you applied with. A new passport needs a new ETA.
Are ESTA and ETIAS the same thing?
No, and this is a common mix-up because the schemes are similar. ESTA covers travel to the United States. ETIAS, once it launches, will cover the Schengen area of the EU plus Cyprus. They are separate authorisations for separate destinations.
Official sources
US Customs and Border Protection, ESTA fee change announcements
Federal Register, Certain DHS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1: Fiscal Year 2026 Adjustments for Inflation
GOV.UK, Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA)
Home Office, Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) factsheet, April 2026
Government of Canada, Find out about electronic travel authorization (eTA)
Australian Government, Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)
European Commission, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1411
EEAS, Information on the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)