Why this page exists
Visa rules now change in layers: a country can stay visa-free while adding an ETA, or stay visa-required while moving the actual document to an eVisa format. That is where travellers and search results get sloppy.
This page is a dated snapshot of the changes in 2026 that are easiest to misread. For the final answer on your own passport and destination, use the specific corridor page on this site and then check the official government source before booking.
The short version
| Change | Status on 29 July 2026 | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| EU EES | Live | Border stamps are being replaced by digital entry/exit records. |
| EU ETIAS | Not live yet | Visa-free travellers to most of Europe do not need ETIAS yet. |
| UK ETA | Live for visa-exempt nationalities | It is a pre-travel authorisation, not a substitute for a UK visitor visa. |
| Thailand exemption revision | Approved, not yet effective | The current 60-day rule remains until the replacement is published in the Royal Gazette and its 15-day lead time ends. |
| Israel ETA-IL | Live | Visa-exempt visitors must get ETA-IL before travel. |
| South Korea K-ETA exemption | Still temporary | Some visa-free travellers remain exempt from K-ETA until 31 December 2026. |
1. EES is live. ETIAS is still not.
The easiest Europe mistake in 2026 is to treat EES and ETIAS as the same thing. They are not.
- EES (Entry/Exit System) is the EU border system that records your entries and exits.
- ETIAS is the future pre-travel authorisation for visa-free visitors.
As of 10 April 2026, the EES replaced manual passport stamping for travellers in scope across the participating European countries. Digital entry/exit records make overstays easier to detect. They do not decide whether the generic 90/180 calculation, a visa sticker, residence status, a legacy waiver or a bilateral arrangement applies to a particular traveller.
ETIAS is still not live as of 29 July 2026. The official EU site expects it in the last quarter of 2026. So if a site is already trying to sell you an ETIAS application today, treat that as a red flag.
Read the deeper explainers:
2. The UK ETA changed the flow for visa-exempt travellers, not for everyone
The UK ETA is now a real pre-travel step for a large set of visa-exempt nationalities. It lets eligible travellers visit the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man for up to 6 months per trip.
But the important line is this:
If your nationality is visa-required for the UK, the ETA does not help you.
That matters because many people search for “UK ETA” and assume it is becoming the default route for everyone. It is not. For example:
- Indian citizens still need a Standard Visitor visa for ordinary tourist travel.
- Ukrainian citizens still need a Standard Visitor visa for ordinary tourist travel.
Read more:
3. Thailand approved a shorter exemption, but it is not live yet
Thailand has approved a replacement for the current 60-day visa-exemption scheme. The latest official notice describes a 30-day cohort of 59 countries and territories, plus narrower 15-day and visa-on-arrival groups.
That announcement is not the effective rule by itself. The official notice says the related drafts take effect only 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. As of 29 July 2026, the current traveller-facing MFA rule still supports the 60-day answer. Corridor pages therefore keep the current rule and label the 30-day scheme as pending rather than future-dating it.
4. Israel kept visa-free access for many passports, but added ETA-IL
Israel is a good example of a rule that stayed broadly visa-free while becoming more digital.
Since 1 January 2025, visa-exempt travellers must get ETA-IL before departure. That does not make Israel “visa-required” for those travellers, but it does mean the old advice “you can just show up visa-free” is no longer complete.
The practical reading is:
- the underlying short-stay waiver can still exist;
- boarding now depends on ETA-IL approval as well.
If you are relying on older guide content, this is one of the easiest places to get caught.
Example corridor:
5. South Korea’s K-ETA story is still transitional
South Korea normally uses K-ETA for many visa-free visitors, but the current position is more specific than “K-ETA required” or “K-ETA not required”.
For a set of eligible visa-free nationalities, the K-ETA requirement remains temporarily exempt through 31 December 2026. After that, the ordinary K-ETA requirement is expected to return unless the Korean authorities extend the waiver again.
That makes South Korea a classic watch-this-date corridor:
- fine for now for eligible travellers;
- easy to misstate if a site forgets the exemption end date.
Example corridor:
What to do with active-policy pages
When a destination is in the middle of a policy transition:
- Check whether the destination is still visa-free / visa-required in substance.
- Then check whether a new ETA / eVisa / border system has been added on top.
- Prefer the official government portal, not a reseller with a markup.
- Watch the exact dates, not vague phrases like “soon” or “this year”.
That is the whole reason this site separates the travel verdict from the travel instrument. A place can stay visa-free while still requiring a real pre-travel step.
Bottom line
The main 2026 policy pattern is not “more visas”. It is more pre-travel authorisations and more digitised border control layered on top of older visa rules. The five changes worth watching most right now are: EES live, ETIAS not live yet, UK ETA live for visa-exempt nationals, Thailand’s replacement scheme approved but not effective, Israel ETA-IL already mandatory, and South Korea’s K-ETA exemption still temporary through 31 December 2026.
This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Confirm the current rule, fee and effective date on the official government source before you travel.