- The ETIAS fee is €20 per applicant, non-refundable, payable at the time of submission.
- Free for applicants under 18 or over 70 — they still need an approved application.
- Valid for 3 years or until your passport expires. Within that window, unlimited trips to the 30 ETIAS countries.
- Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Charged in euros. Your card handles the conversion.
- Approximate cost in other currencies: ~$22 USD, ~£17 GBP, ~$30 CAD, ~$33 AUD (exchange rates vary).
- If a website is charging you €50–€150 for "ETIAS pre-registration", it's a reseller. The actual fee is €20, paid directly to the EU. Do not pay resellers.
01The flat €20 fee
The ETIAS application fee is €20 per applicant, set by Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 amending the original ETIAS Regulation. This applies to every adult applicant regardless of nationality, destination country, trip length, or intended purpose. There are no premium tiers, no fast-track options, no family discounts — it's one flat rate, paid once per three-year authorization.
The fee was originally set at €7 in the 2018 ETIAS Regulation. It was revised upward to €20 in 2024 to cover the actual operational costs of running the system, which turned out to be substantially higher than the original estimate. Specifically, the increase funds:
- The ETIAS Central Unit at Frontex in Warsaw, which operates 24/7 with human reviewers for flagged applications
- The ETIAS National Units — one per member state — which handle country-specific reviews and appeals
- Integration and querying fees against SIS, VIS, Europol, Interpol SLTD, Eurodac, and ECRIS databases
- Operational and staffing costs for the system's 24/7 availability
The fee is non-refundable. If your application is denied, you don't get your €20 back. If you typed your passport number wrong and have to reapply, that's another €20.
02Who is exempt from the €20 fee
Two age-based exemptions are written directly into the regulation:
- Applicants under 18 at the time of application
- Applicants over 70 at the time of application
In both cases, the applicant still must apply and receive approval — the exemption is only from the fee, not from the requirement. Parents fill out applications on behalf of minor children; seniors apply normally through the portal or mobile app.
A third narrower exemption applies to family members of EU citizens exercising their free-movement rights under Directive 2004/38/EC. This is typically used by non-EU spouses of EU nationals, and it requires supporting documentation — it's not something you claim by ticking a box. If this might apply to you, the documentation you need to provide varies by member state; check with the Schengen country that issued your relationship documents.
Beyond those three categories: everyone pays €20. There's no "I'm only going for a day" discount, no business-traveler rate, no frequent-flier exemption, no category for press or diplomats (who typically use different document types anyway).
03What payment methods are accepted
The EU portal accepts:
- Visa — credit and debit
- Mastercard — credit and debit
- American Express
- Apple Pay (via the mobile app and web)
- Google Pay (via the mobile app and web)
Not accepted: cash, bank transfer, wire, PayPal, cryptocurrency, cheques, or prepaid cards with no billing address. The fee must clear at submission — applications aren't held pending payment.
The charge is always in euros. Your bank or card issuer handles the currency conversion to your home currency, using their standard exchange rate. Many cards add a 1–3% foreign-transaction fee on top of the conversion; check your card's terms. Travel-oriented cards (Chase Sapphire, Revolut, Wise, etc.) waive this and tend to give slightly better exchange rates.
04Approximate cost in major currencies
At exchange rates as of April 2026, €20 works out to roughly:
| Currency | Approximate cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US Dollar (USD) | ~$22 | Roughly the same as ESTA ($21) |
| British Pound (GBP) | ~£17 | Slightly cheaper than UK ETA (£20) |
| Canadian Dollar (CAD) | ~$30 | Similar to Canadian eTA ($7 CAD is much cheaper) |
| Australian Dollar (AUD) | ~$33 | Similar to US ESTA in AUD terms |
| Japanese Yen (JPY) | ~¥3,300 | Varies with JPY volatility |
| Swiss Franc (CHF) | ~Fr.19 | CHF currently near parity with EUR |
Exchange rates move — these are April 2026 approximations. Your card issuer will apply whatever rate is current when the transaction clears.
05What you're actually buying
€20 buys a three-year pre-travel authorization tied electronically to your passport. Within those three years:
- Unlimited trips to the 30 ETIAS countries — no extra charge per visit.
- No re-application as long as you keep the same passport and the three years haven't elapsed.
- Per-trip stays up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day window (the 90/180 rule is unchanged by ETIAS).
Broken down per use: one European trip a year over three years = €6.67 per trip. Two trips a year over three years = €3.33 per trip. For a family that vacations in Europe annually, a single ETIAS cycle costs €80 (two adults, two children at €0) and covers three years of travel.
06How to avoid paying more than €20
A sizeable ecosystem of third-party sites is already charging travelers €50, €79, €99, or more for "ETIAS services." These sites are not authorized, have no privileged access to the EU portal, and offer nothing you can't do yourself. The patterns to watch for:
- "ETIAS pre-registration" — there is no such thing. The portal is not yet open as of April 2026; once it opens, applications happen only through the EU portal or mobile app.
- "ETIAS expedited processing" — no paid-expedite tier exists. Everyone gets the same automated processing.
- "ETIAS application assistance" — the form is designed to be self-service in under 10 minutes. Any service that fills it out for you is simply paying the €20 and pocketing the rest.
- Domains that include "etias" in the name — many rank in Google Ads above the official EU site. Only one is legitimate:
travel-europe.europa.eu/etias. Bookmark it.
If you've already paid a reseller and no longer want to: contact your card issuer promptly. Many banks will reverse transactions on misleading or duplicate-service charges if you act within the first 30–60 days. Save any receipts and marketing claims for the dispute.
Frequently asked questions about the ETIAS cost
How much does ETIAS cost?
€20 per applicant. Free for applicants under 18 or over 70, though both groups still need a completed and approved application.
Is the ETIAS fee refundable?
No. The €20 is non-refundable under any circumstance — including refusal, successful reapplication, or cancellation of your trip.
Why did the fee go from €7 to €20?
The original fee was set in 2018 based on early operational estimates. By 2024 the actual costs of running the ETIAS Central Unit, national units, and database integrations were higher than projected. Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 formally raised the fee to €20 to cover those real costs.
Can I pay ETIAS in US dollars or British pounds?
The charge is always in euros, but your card handles the conversion automatically. €20 is roughly $22 USD or £17 GBP at current rates.
Are there family discounts?
No family discounts. Each applicant pays €20 individually. Under-18s and over-70s are exempt regardless of family status.
Can I pay for someone else's ETIAS?
Yes — parents routinely pay for children's applications, and nothing stops you from using your card to pay for a friend or family member's. The application is tied to the traveler's passport, not the payment card.
What happens if my payment is declined?
The application is not submitted until payment clears. You can retry with a different card. There's no penalty for a declined payment, just a delay.
Is the ETIAS fee the same in all European countries?
Yes. €20 is the EU-wide fee; it doesn't vary by which country you're visiting first or by which member state processes your application.
Sources
Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 (original ETIAS Regulation, €7 fee) · Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 (amendment raising fee to €20) · European Commission ETIAS portal at travel-europe.europa.eu · Frontex ETIAS Central Unit operational documentation · European Court of Auditors reports on ETIAS implementation costs.
Last updated April 21, 2026 · Editorial review: ETIAS Guide Newsroom · Corrections: corrections@etiasapply.eu.com