Public service announcement - several posts recently from folks who inadvertently used a third party site when applying for their ETA. I very nearly did it myself and it's mentioned quite often on this forum.
Carefully vet the list of sites that Google gives you, scroll down the page or two, and confirm that it's the official UK government site.
UK government guidance is here.
Thank you, Phred!
We just applied for it yesterday and my first attempt came up with a third party site wanting $125. My husband said I can't believe this price and luckily I knew from previous research that it should be about $20.
A red flag was waving somewhere as I've belatedly read the ETA warnings on the Travel Forum. I apparently chose Sherpa to purchase my visa for $31 and failed to notice it wasn't the official government site. To be safe, I reapplied through the government app today. Since my Sherpa print out is identical to the paper confirmation from the government website that came within hours, Sherpa is likely okay. Lesson learned though for close reading of websites!
I paid extra for Sherpa before I knew better... but was directed there by American Airlines (cross-marketing). Perfectly valid but maybe $10 wasted.
I have seen reports that the Delta website also directs passengers to Sherpa.
We booked through United Airlines. They didn't say anything about needing an ETA. Glad I read it here.
To be fair, they do - you may have just missed it:
"Nationals of USA do not need a visa for a maximum of 6 months if they have an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) obtained prior to boarding at https://www.gov.uk/eta."
https://www.united.com/en/us/travel/trip-planning/travel-requirements
I have seen reports that the Delta website also directs passengers to Sherpa.
I was curious about that, John, so I checked and you're right. If you go to the destinations advisory page, there is a large blurb about the UK ETA, along with a link to "apply online" that takes you directly to the Sherpa website. It's not like one of the scammy sites that charges a fee of $100 or more, but it does charge a $9 fee for applying on the Sherpa site.
FWIW, Delta is not the only airline that is using Sherpa for visa info and applications. Others include AA, KLM, British Airways, Air Canada and many more. You can find the whole list here (scroll to bottom): https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions
If you go to the destinations advisory page, there is a large blurb about the UK ETA, along with a link to "apply online" that takes you directly to the Sherpa website.
Delta employing revenue enhancement.
