Quarterly Report · Issue 02 · Q3 2026
The Digital Borders Report
What moved inside the world's digital entry systems this quarter.
About this issue
A quarter of movement.
Barely any country went digital for the first time this quarter. The countries that already had it were the busy ones, spending three months migrating platforms, launching companion apps, and turning optional steps into required ones. The decade-long story of borders going digital is turning into a different story: not who adopts next, but what they do once they have.
121 entry-policy events were logged across 52 countries, and almost none of them were a country adopting digital entry for the first time.
They were countries that already had it: migrating to new platforms, launching companion apps, moving pilots onto a mandatory footing, and adjusting who qualifies. The adoption story of the last decade is turning into an operating story, and that is a different thing to track.
Every figure here is drawn from the same live registry and change log as Issue 01, dated, with third-party statistics attributed to their original source.
The headlines
Key findings.
The registry grew from 138 countries to 142. That is wider coverage rather than new adoption: the number of countries running an eTA or a digital arrival card did not change at all.
121 entry-policy events were logged across 52 countries in three months. The busiest movers were India, Thailand, the European Union and South Africa, none of them adopting digital entry for the first time.
The clearest pattern of the quarter was compulsion: declarations, arrival cards and authorisations moving from optional to required.
Not every mandate held. A Kenyan court suspended the insurance requirement attached to the country's eTA.
The EU's ETIAS slipped again, now expected in 2027. The largest digital border programme in the world spent the quarter not launching.
Japan published the design of JESTA, a new authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, scheduled for its 2028 fiscal year. Where existing eTAs are multi-entry and valid for years, JESTA requires a separate application for each entry.
Part I · The map
How the map changed.
Coverage against the Issue 01 baseline. Four countries were added this quarter, which widens the registry rather than records new adoption. The number of countries running an eTA or a digital arrival card did not change.
By region
Source: EntryCheck registry. Data as of 30 September 2026.
Part II · The flow
121 changes, 52 countries.
Almost none of this was a country adopting digital entry for the first time. It was countries that already had it, but changing how it works: migrating to new platforms, launching companion apps, moving pilots onto a mandatory footing, and adjusting who qualifies. The adoption phase is giving way to an operating phase.
Half of these countries changed one thing
Half the countries in this count logged a single change, while ten produced nearly half the total. The activity is concentrated, not spread evenly across the map.
Source: EntryCheck change log, 1 July to 30 September 2026. Impact grade is assigned on review.
Part II · The flow
The movers.
Countries with the most recorded activity this quarter.
Health declaration relaunched, group eVisa, biometric kiosks
Exemptions revised, arrival card mandated, eGates opened
ETIAS postponed again, now expected 2027
Declarations mandated, eTA launched, fee introduced
eTA scope changed, insurance requirement contested
Visitor visa applications moved online
JESTA published for the 2028 fiscal year
Online accommodation registration expanded
Source: EntryCheck change log, Q3 2026.
Part III · The pattern
From optional to required.
The clearest pattern of the quarter was compulsion. Systems that had run as pilots, or as a recommended step, moved onto a mandatory footing. 17 of the 121 logged events described something becoming required.
South Africa
Online travel declarations mandated for all arrivals and departures.
Papua New Guinea
Digital arrival card mandated for all international travellers.
Bolivia
The SIGEMIG online entry form became required for most travellers.
India
Air Suvidha 2.0, a mandatory health declaration, was relaunched in July.
Kazakhstan
QazETA published a phased timeline for becoming a condition of entry.
Required means before departure
Every system on this page is completed before travel. The border is where it is checked, not where it is done.
Source: EntryCheck change log, Q3 2026.
Part III · Case study I
A system's first quarter.
- 3 Jul Online travel declarations mandated for all arrivals and departures.
- 19 Jul Visa-free entry expanded for 22 African nations.
- 29 Jul Online electronic travel authorisation launched for Indian visitors.
- 12 Aug The electronic travel authorisation officially goes live.
- 19 Aug The new system rejects thousands of fraudulent applications.
- 22 Aug An R500 fee is introduced for the authorisation.
Seven recorded events in a single quarter, covering the whole lifecycle of a new system: mandate, launch, enforcement, then price. Few countries compress that arc into ninety days, and it is a useful preview of what the next adopters will meet.
Source: EntryCheck change log, Q3 2026.
Part III · Case study II
A form becomes a prerequisite.
- Replaced The paper TM.6 card was abolished. The digital arrival card is now mandatory.
- Deadline It must be completed up to 72 hours before arrival.
- Companion The THIM app entered pilot alongside the card. It does not replace it.
- eGates From 22 September a completed card is required to use the automated gates at Suvarnabhumi.
- Next A proposed 450 baht arrival fee is expected to be collected through the same channels.
The fast lane is now conditional
Digital entry did not remove a step here. It added the conditions under which a step can be skipped.
Source: EntryCheck change log, Q3 2026. eGate detail as published by thaigov.go.th.
Part IV · The pipeline
Announced now, live later.
Not everything logged this quarter has happened yet. These are the announcements that carry a future date, and the date is the useful part: it is what a traveller, an airline or a booking platform has to plan around.
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1 Oct 2026
New Zealand
Paper applications end for 24 visitor visa categories and the transit visa.
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1 Jan 2027
Egypt
The single-entry visa fee rises to $33, and the digital visa on arrival to $39.
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2027
European Union
ETIAS is now expected, at €20, valid three years, with no biometrics collected at application.
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FY 2028
Japan
JESTA, requiring a separate application for each entry, is scheduled for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2029.
Announced, no date given
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Not set
Kazakhstan
QazETA is in pilot, with a phased timeline published for making it a condition of entry.
-
Not set
Thailand
A 450 baht arrival fee is expected to be collected through the digital entry channels.
Half of these carry no firm date
Kazakhstan's timeline is phased, Thailand's fee has no start date, and ETIAS has moved before. An announcement and a date have not been finalised.
Source: EntryCheck change log, Q3 2026. Dates as published by the relevant authority.
Part IV · Outlook
What to watch.
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Pilots become conditions of entry
Several authorisations are running in pilot with a published timeline. The question for the next quarter is which of them become a requirement, and how much notice travellers get.
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Authorisation moves to one per entry
Japan's JESTA, scheduled for its 2028 fiscal year, is built around a separate application for each entry, where existing eTAs are multi-entry and valid for years. Officers will be able to omit the landing stamp and send entry details by email, a change that reaches Japan's tax-free shopping rules.
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Declarations spread faster than visas
The digital declaration and the arrival card are moving through more countries than eVisas are, because they apply to every traveller rather than only those who need a visa.
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Enforcement becomes the story
One system rejected thousands of fraudulent applications this quarter. As these platforms mature, what they catch becomes as newsworthy as what they issue.
Part V · Readership
ChatGPT is now third.
of new visitors arrive from ChatGPT, roughly three times the share from Bing.
Issue 01 noted that AI assistants had begun citing EntryCheck. Over the third quarter they became one of its largest sources of new readers.
the largest single source
and the largest search source
ranking third overall, roughly three times Bing
They arrive with a narrower question than search visitors, and they rarely come back. That is the shape of the service working rather than failing: someone is sent to confirm a single link, confirms it, and leaves.
Verification is increasingly becoming important
98% of visitors this quarter were first-time. A check made once a trip does not build an audience. That behaviour belongs inside a booking flow, not beside it.
Reach
Four continents and seven languages, with Europe, Africa and Asia the most active regions, led by Birmingham, London, Casablanca and Dhaka.
Source: Google Analytics, entrycheck.org, 27 June to 24 September 2026.
Part V · Reference
Methodology and sources.
Registry figures are drawn from EntryCheck's directory of official government entry portals, covering 142 countries. Each portal is verified against the EntryCheck Standard, which checks government ownership, domain authenticity, SSL, directness, and records the date it was last reviewed.
Change figures are drawn from the EntryCheck change log for 1 July to 30 September 2026: 121 recorded entry-policy events across 52 countries. Each event carries a date, a country and an impact grade assigned on review. Third-party statistics are attributed to their original source throughout.
Comparisons to June refer to Issue 01, whose data was current as of 30 June 2026. Where a count is unchanged, it is shown as unchanged rather than omitted.
Not every listed portal is working. Some are announced before the portal opens. Others were serving and have stopped. Either way the country stays listed with its official address, tagged Unverified until it can be confirmed again.
How to cite
EntryCheck, The Digital Borders Report, Issue 02, Q3 2026.
entrycheck.org/reports
Data as of 30 September 2026.
Part V · Reference
Important notice.
Not advice
This report is published for information only. It is not legal, immigration or travel advice, and it does not state whether any individual requires a visa or authorisation. Entry requirements vary by nationality and change frequently. Always confirm your requirements with the official government portal for your destination before travelling or making payment.
Fees and currency
Fees shown are government fees, set and collected by the relevant authorities. EntryCheck does not charge for, process or submit applications. Amounts shown in USD are converted from local currencies at rates current as of 30 September 2026 and are indicative only.
Independence
EntryCheck is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government or public authority. Country names, portal names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.
No warranty
Information is provided as is, without warranty of any kind. Every figure is verified and dated at the time of publication, but EntryCheck accepts no liability for decisions made in reliance on this report.
© 2026 EntryCheck. Figures may be quoted with attribution to EntryCheck, The Digital Borders Report, Issue 02, Q3 2026.
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