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Travel authorisations: how to find the official site

ETA, ETIAS, ESTA and eTA all have lookalike sites charging several times the fee. The official addresses, the real prices and the warning signs.

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5 min read

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Search for “UK ETA” or “ESTA” and the first results are often ads from companies offering to apply on your behalf. Some are legal intermediaries charging a service fee. Others copy the look of a government site to seem official. Either way, you pay several times the real price for a form that takes ten minutes, and hand your passport details to a company you know nothing about.

The defence is simple: know the official address and the official fee for each authorisation. If a site doesn’t match both, close the tab.

The official addresses and fees

These fees were checked in September 2026. Authorisation fees change, so always confirm on the official page itself.

Authorisation For Official address Official fee
ETA United Kingdom gov.uk/eta or the UK ETA app £20
ETIAS Europe (not launched yet) travel-europe.europa.eu/etias €20
ESTA United States, visa waiver countries esta.cbp.dhs.gov $40
eTA Canada, eligible travellers canada.ca CA$7
e-Visa Brazil, for US, Canadian and Australian citizens brazil.vfsevisa.com US$80.90

The last line is the odd one out. Since 10 April 2025, Brazil requires visas from US, Canadian and Australian citizens again, and its foreign ministry sends applicants to a portal run by VFS Global, a private company contracted by the government. It’s a reminder that “official” doesn’t always mean a .gov address. The safe move is to start from the government’s own page and follow its link.

Why the copycats rank first

Google sells the top of the results page. A company that pays for an ad can appear above the government site, and the “Sponsored” label is small. Because the authorisations have generic acronyms, anyone can register a domain with “eta”, “etias” or “esta” in it.

Governments warn about this themselves. The UK government says other websites charge more for an ETA and none can get you a faster decision. The EU says commercial intermediaries use the official ETIAS site behind the scenes and may add fees. US Customs and Border Protection tells travellers to get their ESTA through the official website.

Signs you’re not on the official site

  • The address doesn’t end in the government domain. The official ones end in gov.uk, europa.eu, dhs.gov and canada.ca. Not “.com”, “.org” or “.online” with the acronym in the name.
  • The price is higher than the official fee. Anything above the table is an intermediary’s mark-up.
  • There’s a paid “priority review”. Nobody outside the government can speed up the decision.
  • The site calls itself a “partner” or “authorised agent”. For these authorisations, you apply directly with the government.
  • The form asks for things the official one doesn’t. Bank passwords, photos of both sides of your card or extra documents are red flags.

If you’ve already paid the wrong site

First, find out whether an application was actually made. The official ESTA and Canadian eTA sites let you look up an existing application with your passport details; for the UK ETA, the decision arrives by email. If the application exists and was approved, it’s valid even though it went through a middleman; you just paid more for it.

If there’s no application at all, apply on the official site and contact your card issuer to dispute the charge. Keep the receipt, emails and the site’s address. If the form asked for banking details or passwords, call your bank straight away.

What to do

  • Type the address; don’t click the ad. Enter gov.uk/eta or travel-europe.europa.eu directly in the address bar.
  • Use the official app where there is one. The UK ETA app is published by the Home Office on Google Play and the App Store.
  • Check the price before entering your card. If it’s above the official fee, stop.
  • Apply yourself. The questions are simple and the process takes minutes.
  • Don’t pay anyone for ETIAS yet. The system hasn’t launched.

I don’t think paying an intermediary for these is worth it, even a legitimate one. The official forms are designed for travellers to fill in themselves, and the extra money buys nothing. Our ETIAS guide covers the European system in more detail.

FAQ

What is the official UK ETA website?

gov.uk/eta, run by the UK government, or the UK ETA app. The official fee is £20.

Is ETIAS running yet?

No. As of September 2026, ETIAS hasn’t launched. Any site charging for it now is not official.

How much does ESTA cost on the official site?

$40 since 30 September 2025, at esta.cbp.dhs.gov.

I applied through an unofficial site. Is my authorisation valid?

If the application really was submitted to the government and approved, yes. Check on the official site or in the government’s decision email.

Sources

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