Beware of Unofficial Visa Applications: How to Save Thousands of Crowns
    Tipy15 April 2026· 3 min read

    Beware of Unofficial Visa Applications: How to Save Thousands of Crowns

    The official UK ETA costs £20. Unofficial intermediaries charge up to 300% extra. We'll show you how to identify an official source and apply correctly.

    P

    Pavel

    SmartPacker author

    Visa Digitization is Great - But Beware of Traps

    More and more countries are switching to electronic visas and travel authorizations. UK ETA, the upcoming ETIAS for the EU, Indian eVisa - everything can be processed online in a few minutes. However, this very simplicity opens the door for intermediaries who charge hundreds to thousands of crowns extra for "filling out a form."

    The Case of UK ETA: £20 vs. 2,360 CZK

    The United Kingdom has introduced UK ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) - an electronic travel authorization for citizens of selected countries. The official fee? £20 (approx. 590 CZK).

    But when you type "UK ETA application" into Google, paid advertisements from intermediary services are among the first results. For example, iVisa charges an extra 1,770 CZK for "application processing" even with the slowest processing (up to 24 hours). That's a markup of over 300%!

    What do you get for that money?

    Practically nothing you couldn't do yourself in 5 minutes. The intermediary:

    1. Fills out the same form on the official website for you
    2. Forwards the confirmation to you
    3. Collects hundreds to thousands of crowns extra

    The Official Route - Fast and Cheap

    The entire process takes 5-10 minutes. All you need is a passport and a payment card.

    How to Distinguish an Official Source from an Intermediary

    Here's a simple checklist to help you differentiate an official website from a commercial intermediary:

    ✅ Official Signs

    • Domain ends in '.gov.uk', '.europa.eu', '.gov.in', etc.
    • The fee matches the amount stated on the government website
    • No "service fees" or "processing fees"
    • The page does not contain aggressive countdowns or "discounts"

    🚩 Intermediary Warning Signs

    • Commercial domain (.com, .io, .online)
    • Google Ads - official government websites usually don't need advertising
    • Fee significantly higher than the official price
    • Offer of "express processing" for an additional charge
    • Form looks different from the government website

    It's Not Just the UK - Other Examples

    ETIAS (EU)

    The upcoming European travel authorization will cost €7. Websites already exist offering "application assistance" for €50-80. The official website will be at travel-europe.europa.eu.

    India eVisa

    The official fee ranges around $25-80 depending on the visa type. Intermediaries commonly charge $150-200. Official website: indianvisaonline.gov.in.

    Turkey eVisa

    Official price $50. On unofficial websites, you'll pay $100+. The only official source: evisa.gov.tr.

    Summary: 3 Rules to Save You Money

    1. Always look for a government domain - .gov.xx or .europa.eu
    2. Ignore Google ads - click through to organic results
    3. Check the official price before any payment

    A few minutes of verification can save you hundreds to thousands of crowns. And most importantly - an official application is usually simpler than you'd expect. 🧳