Travel to the United Kingdom is about to become more expensive and more bureaucratic for millions of international visitors, as the government moves ahead with a fresh round of increases to visa and electronic travel authorisation fees in 2025.

With core tourism markets already grappling with new entry schemes in Europe and North America, the UK’s latest changes raise an urgent question for travellers and the industry alike: when costs keep climbing, will visitors still choose Britain?

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What is changing: higher prices for visas and ETAs in 2025

From April 9, 2025, the Home Office is implementing a broad package of immigration fee rises that will hit both traditional visas and the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation, or ETA. Short stay visitor visas of up to six months, commonly used by tourists and people visiting friends or relatives, will increase from 115 to 127 pounds, a rise of around 10 percent. Longer term visit visas valid for two, five and ten years have already been pushed higher in stages since 2023.

Alongside those changes, the cost of an ETA, the digital permit that many visa exempt travellers must now obtain before heading to Britain, is set for one of the steepest percentage jumps. After being launched at 10 pounds, the fee is due to climb to 16 pounds, a 60 percent increase. Legal and immigration advisers describe this as one of the most significant hikes in the new schedule, especially because of the sheer number of visitors expected to fall under the scheme.

The rises follow earlier rounds of adjustments that began in October 2023, when ministers first signalled a strategic shift toward using migration charges to fund the borders system and reduce reliance on general taxation. Since then, incremental increases have worked their way through the fee tables for work, study and family routes, but 2025 is the first time that both classic visit visas and the new ETA regime are being raised in tandem.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation is the UK’s answer to a growing global trend toward advance screening of short term visitors. The system applies to travellers who currently do not need a visa for stays of up to six months, such as tourists and business visitors, and who do not already hold UK immigration status. After an initial rollout for selected nationalities, it is being expanded to cover Europeans and other major markets.

An ETA is not a visa, but a digital permission linked to the traveller’s passport, similar in concept to the United States’ ESTA or Canada’s eTA. Approved applicants can usually enter the UK multiple times over a two year period, or until their passport expires. Most decisions are automated and arrive within minutes, although the Home Office advises allowing up to three working days for cases that require additional checks.

For many travellers, the process is quick and handled through a mobile app, but the introduction of a mandatory pre travel clearance represents a significant cultural shift for European visitors who were accustomed to arriving in Britain with only a passport. Until 2025, EU nationals had not been required to obtain any form of advance authorisation for short tourism or business trips, and industry groups say the new step changes the psychological as well as the financial barrier to entry.

European visitors and a new layer of cost

The extension of the ETA requirement to European nationals marks the last major phase of the UK’s digital borders plan. From spring 2025, most EU visitors who previously relied on visa free entry will have to apply and pay for an ETA before boarding a plane, train or ferry to the UK. Airlines and other carriers are under instructions to check that passengers have a valid approval, and from early 2026 British authorities are expected to enforce those rules more strictly at departure points and on arrival.

For individual travellers, 16 pounds may seem modest in isolation, but critics note that the fee comes on top of already high on the ground prices in British cities and the loss of tax free shopping for overseas visitors. For families or repeat visitors from nearby countries who might once have made spontaneous weekend trips, the combination of pre registration, extra cost and tighter checks could be enough to tip plans toward alternative destinations.

European tourism bodies have also pointed out the asymmetry between the UK’s approach and the European Union’s upcoming entry rules for British and other non EU visitors. Under the EU’s own travel authorisation scheme, the proposed fee is lower and the validity period longer, covering entry to nearly 30 countries at once. That comparison has become a rallying point for travel lobbies arguing that the UK is risking its competitiveness at precisely the moment other regions are working to streamline their own systems.

Impact on traditional visitor visas beyond the ETA group

Not everyone can or will travel on an ETA. Millions of would be visitors still require standard visas, including tourists from countries like India, China and South Africa, as well as many extended family visitors and some business travellers. For this group, the 2025 rises layer onto costs that are already among the highest in Europe for short stay permits.

The basic six month visitor visa, now rising to 127 pounds, is only the starting point in a structure that climbs steeply for longer validity options. A two year visa stands in the mid hundreds of pounds, while ten year multiple entry permissions now run well over 1,000 pounds. Specialist visit categories, such as academics, those coming for longer private medical treatment or crew members joining ships or aircraft, have also seen their fees move upward in line with the new policy.

Immigration lawyers warn that, for families in emerging markets, these amounts are far from trivial. Once service charges, biometric appointments and ancillary costs such as document translations and courier fees are factored in, the price of a UK holiday or family reunion can rise by hundreds more pounds per traveller. Some sectors, particularly group tours and educational visits, fear that price sensitive travellers will pivot to rival destinations with simpler and cheaper entry regimes.

Tourism industry fears over competitiveness and perception

Travel industry groups within the UK have reacted coolly to the planned hikes, arguing that the government is underestimating how sensitive visitors are to additional costs and bureaucratic friction. Trade associations representing inbound tour operators, airlines and hospitality businesses say there is a persistent assumption in policy circles that demand for Britain is almost inelastic, an assumption they insist is out of date in an intensely competitive global tourism market.

Executives point to a series of recent policy moves that, taken together, risk eroding the country’s appeal. These include the removal of tax free shopping for overseas visitors, the imposition of standard value added tax on hospitality services and the prospect of local tourist taxes in cities like Manchester and Edinburgh. Against that backdrop, higher entry fees and new authorisation requirements are seen as yet another reason for potential visitors to look elsewhere.

There is particular concern about long haul markets that the UK has spent years cultivating, such as high spending visitors from the Gulf, East Asia and North America. Industry data suggest that such travellers often compare London, Paris and other European capitals as interchangeable city break or shopping destinations. If total trip costs in the UK continue to rise faster than competitor cities, tour operators warn that itineraries will be redrawn to favour the Schengen area or emerging hubs like Dubai and Istanbul.

Government rationale: funding borders without raising taxes

Ministers and officials counter that the latest increases are necessary to maintain and modernise the borders and immigration system without drawing more heavily on general taxation. The Home Office has repeatedly framed fee rises as a way to ensure that users of the system pay a greater share of its costs, citing pressures on public finances and competing demands such as public sector pay and health spending.

Officials have also highlighted the investment required to roll out and manage new digital systems like the ETA, as well as ongoing work to digitise visa processing, improve security checks and upgrade border infrastructure. They argue that, in the long term, a fully digital pre travel screening model will lead to smoother journeys and shorter queues at entry points such as Heathrow and the Eurostar terminals, benefits that will be felt by legitimate travellers and carriers alike.

The broader political context matters too. Successive governments have faced intense domestic pressure over net migration figures and the cost of managing illegal entry. By raising fees for legal entry routes, ministers can claim they are reducing the taxpayer burden while still keeping the door open to tourists, students and skilled workers. Critics respond that the approach risks undermining precisely those legal flows that support jobs and growth in tourism, higher education and key sectors of the economy.

Comparisons with other travel authorisation schemes worldwide

The UK is not alone in seeking to charge visitors for digital entry clearances. The United States has long required most visa exempt travellers to obtain an ESTA, which has itself seen price rises in recent years. Canada and several Asia Pacific countries use similar systems. The European Union is preparing to launch its own authorisation platform for non EU nationals from visa exempt countries, with a lower price point and multi year validity intended to keep the per trip cost relatively low.

Where the UK differs, analysts say, is in the combination of relatively high visa fees, the rapid escalation of the ETA charge and the cumulative effect of other policies that have made the country a more expensive place to visit. When benchmarked against the cost of equivalent permits in neighbouring countries, the price to enter Britain, particularly for families or frequent visitors, now sits at the upper end of the global range.

Tourism economists note that price is only one factor in destination choice, but it interacts with perceptions of welcome, ease of entry and value for money once on the ground. Surveys regularly show that travellers weigh all of these elements together rather than looking at one in isolation. Against that backdrop, the question of whether a 16 pound ETA or a triple digit visa fee is acceptable cannot be detached from high hotel rates, transport costs and the wider political climate toward foreign visitors.

What this means for would be visitors deciding whether to come

For individual travellers planning a trip to the UK in late 2025 or 2026, the practical implications of the changes are relatively straightforward but important to budget for. Visa exempt visitors should expect to apply online for an ETA several days before departure and to pay a fee that is higher than initially advertised. Those from countries that require full visas will need to factor in not only rising application fees but also potential delays, appointment availability and service charges in their home countries.

Travel agents and tour operators are already advising clients to check entry requirements early in the planning process and to view the visa or ETA fee as part of the overall cost of the holiday, alongside flights, accommodation and insurance. For some, particularly solo travellers or couples on short city breaks, the added expense may be absorbed as a marginal increase. For larger family groups, students or travellers on tighter budgets, it may prompt a reassessment of whether the UK still offers good value compared with other destinations.

Ultimately, whether visitors will still come in the same numbers depends on more than one policy change. The UK continues to hold strong appeal thanks to its cultural attractions, world famous landmarks and English language advantage. Yet as fees rise and administrative hurdles grow, the onus will increasingly fall on the country’s tourism industry and policymakers to demonstrate that Britain remains welcoming and worth the extra cost at the border.