What Is an ETA? Electronic Travel Authorisation Explained (2026)

An ETA, or electronic travel authorisation, is a digital permission you get before you travel to a country that does not ask you for a visa. The country wants to know who is coming before you board the plane, so it asks a few questions and checks your passport against its security lists.

The form is short. You type your passport details, address, job and travel plans, answer questions about crime and past refusals, and in many cases take a photo of your face with your phone. Then you pay and wait for an email.

The ETA is linked to your passport number. There is no sticker and nothing to print in most cases. The airline checks it when you check in, and the border officer sees it when you arrive.

No. A visa is a decision about you as a person: an officer looks at your money, your job, your reasons for the trip and your ties at home. You often need an appointment, fingerprints, bank statements and sometimes an interview. A visa can take weeks.

An ETA is a quick screening for people whose nationality already allows visa free visits. Nobody looks at your bank statement. The system checks security and immigration records, and most answers come fast.

Both have one thing in common: neither guarantees entry. The border officer still decides when you land. If you want the difference between visas themselves, read e visa vs visa on arrival vs embassy visa.

These are the main systems. Fees are the official government fee per person. Where we could not read a fee on the official page, the table says so: check the official site before paying.

Israel (ETA-IL), Sri Lanka and Kenya also use electronic authorisations. We could not read their current fees on the official pages, so check israel-entry.piba.gov.il, eta.gov.lk or etakenya.go.ke before you pay.

Each country keeps two lists: nationalities that need a visa, and nationalities that can visit without one. Only the second group uses the ETA. If your passport is on the visa list, an ETA is not an option, even if you have a lot of money or have visited before.

Babies and children usually need their own ETA. Dual citizens should travel on the passport that gives the easiest entry, and use the same passport for the ETA and the flight.

• Azerbaijani passport: needs a visa for the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. See where Azerbaijanis can travel.
• Pakistani and Indian passports: in general a full visa for these countries, not an ETA. See travel from Pakistan and travel from India.
• Russian passport: a visa for the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. See travel from Russia.
• Turkish passport: a visa for the UK and the US. For South Korea, check the K-ETA portal, because K-ETA covers the nationalities Korea lets in without a visa. See travel from Türkiye.
• Gulf passports (Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman): use the UK ETA instead of the old electronic visa waiver.

1. 1

   Check your passport

   Make sure your nationality is on the visa exempt list of the country you are visiting, and that your passport will stay valid for the whole trip. Many ETA systems need an electronic passport with a chip.

2. 2

   Find the official site

   Type the government address yourself or use the official app. Look for gov.uk, cbp.dhs.gov, canada.ca, govt.nz, go.kr or europa.eu. Paid search ads often lead to copy sites.

3. 3

   Fill in the form

   Use the same spelling as in your passport. Answer the questions about crime, past refusals and overstays honestly. A wrong answer can get you banned later.

4. 4

   Pay the official fee

   Pay by card. If the price is much higher than the official fee in the table above, you are on a third party site.

5. 5

   Wait for the email

   Most answers come within minutes, but plan for up to 3 days. Do not book flights you cannot change until you have the answer.

6. 6

   Travel with the same passport

   If you get a new passport, you need a new ETA, even if the old one has not expired.

A refusal usually means you must apply for a full visa at an embassy or visa centre. There is rarely an appeal for an ETA. The refusal does not ban you from the country, but you will need to explain it in your visa form.

Our guide to visa refusal reasons for Schengen, the UK and the US explains what to do next.

Living in Baku does not change which travel document you need. The rules follow your passport, not where you live. A British or German expat in Baku uses the UK ETA or ESTA rules for their own passport, while an Azerbaijani colleague needs a visa for the same trip.

Sroky can remind you before your passport, visa or residence permit ends, which matters because an ETA ends when the passport ends. You can set this up on the reminders page.