Since the start of its term, the Trump administration has taken a number of steps to target visitors coming in from other countries with more bureaucracy and heftier fees.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress in July 2025 authorizes a “surcharge for foreign visitors” to the country’s 63 national parks and a $250 “visa integrity fee” for those applying for nonimmigrant visas.
In August, the U.S. State Department has also singled out citizens from the African nations of Zambia and Malawi with a bond of up to $15,000 that they now need to put down when applying for tourist and business visas.
While citizens of most Western countries do not require a visa for short visits to the United States, travelers from countries with visa-free agreements do need to pay the Electronic System for Travel Authorization fee when preclearing the visit digitally before arrival.
ESTA fee will rise from $40 by October as foreign travel to the U.S. dips
Valid for multiple trips for two years or until the expiration of one’s passport, the ESTA fee was introduced in 2010 and remained set at $14 until it was raised to $21 in 2022. Last week, CBP officials confirmed that the fee will now once again increase by almost 50% to $40 by the start of October.
Related: A country just went visa-free for visitors with any passport
“ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel, though it is recommended that travelers apply as soon as they begin preparing travel plans or prior to purchasing airline tickets,” the government page on applying for travel authorization currently reads.
Other countries whose citizens can pay the ESTA fee online instead of applying for a full visa at an embassy or consulate include Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Qatar.
Traveling abroad? This is what electronic authorization looks like in other countries
Over the last decade, most countries introduced similar digital authorization fees for travelers who do not need a visa.
Australia and New Zealand charge a respective $20AUD and $23NZD, while the United Kingdom recently raised the cost of theirs from £10 to £16.
The rollout of the European Travel Information and Authorization System is currently set for 2026 but has been marked by multiple delays and technical challenges since the Covid pandemic.
Even so, the price hike for the U.S. fee drew criticism as serving to further deter travelers at a time when many are already eschewing the United States over fear of getting caught up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
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Research firm Tourism Economics predicted that global tourism to the U.S. will be down by 8.2% by the time the full numbers for 2025 are calculated, and travel from countries such as Spain, Slovenia, and Canada declined by as much as 30% for several months in a row last spring.
“The price of an ESTA nearly doubling under the Trump administration is a blow to British travelers and is likely to impact U.S. visitor numbers over the coming months,” Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of the British travel agency Advantage Travel Partnership, told Travel Weekly.
“However, if travelers are planning a trip to the U.S. in the next two years, they can avoid this fee increase by securing their ESTA before Sept. 29.”
Related: South Africa hits back at latest US travel advisory
