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Independent site, not a government website. We never sell or file applications: every link goes to the official site, at the official price.

Travel Auth Check

Fake “official” websites: how to tell, and what to do if you paid one

Type "ESTA" or "UK ETA" into a search engine and several of the first results are agencies. They copy the look of a government site, use the acronym in their domain name, and charge the official fee plus their own. Every government concerned warns about them on its own pages: GOV.UK ("Avoid websites that imitate government services"), CBP, Canada and the EU's ETIAS site ("There are many unofficial ETIAS websites").

The only official addresses

AuthorisationOfficial websiteOfficial appOfficial fee
UK ETAwww.gov.uk
Check status		UK ETA (Home Office)£20
ESTAesta.cbp.dhs.gov
Check status		ESTA Mobile (CBP)US$40.27
eTA (Canada)www.canada.ca
Check status		none: web form onlyCA$7
ETIAStravel-europe.europa.eu (europa.eu/etias)official ETIAS app, after launchnot open
ETA (Australia)immi.homeaffairs.gov.auAustralian ETA (Home Affairs)A$20
NZeTAwww.immigration.govt.nzNZeTA (Immigration New Zealand)NZ$117

Five signs you are on an agency site

  1. The domain. Official sites end in gov.uk, dhs.gov, canada.ca, europa.eu, gov.au or govt.nz. A .com, .org or .online containing "esta", "eta" or "etias" is private, whatever the flag on the page.
  2. The price. More than the fee in the table above means a service charge. Some show it only on the payment page.
  3. "Processing", "express" or "priority" options. None of these governments sells a faster decision for an ETA, ESTA or eTA.
  4. Small print saying "we are not affiliated with any government" in the footer.
  5. An ETIAS application today. ETIAS is not open: anyone taking an ETIAS application or payment now is not the EU.

Some of them buy search ads that appear above the official result. Typing the official address yourself, or starting from the links on this site, avoids them.

How much above the official fee did you pay?

In the currency shown.

After paying an agency

Is it illegal for a website to charge more for an ESTA or ETA?

Not in itself: agencies may sell a form-filling service if they are clear that they are not the government and show their fee. What is unlawful in the UK, the EU and the US is misleading people into thinking they are on the official site. Either way, the service adds nothing: the government decides on the same form.

Can I get a refund from the agency?

The government cannot refund what an agency charged: CBP says so for ESTA. Ask the agency first; if the site misled you, your card issuer may accept a chargeback, and you can report it (Action Fraud or Trading Standards via Citizens Advice in the UK, the FTC in the US, your national consumer authority in the EU).

Is my authorisation valid if I used an agency?

Usually, if the agency actually filed it. Check with the official status service using your application number (links in the table above). If nothing is found, apply again on the official site before you travel.

Official sources

Updated . Fees and country lists checked on the official government sites on . Rules change: the official site always prevails.