The Digital Borders Report, Issue 02: 121 entry-rule changes in Q3

Issue 02 covers Q3 2026, with data as of 30 September, and is built entirely on EntryCheck's live registry and change log. 121 entry-policy events were logged across 52 countries, and almost none were a country adopting digital entry for the first time. They were countries that already had it, changing how it works. The registry grew from 138 countries to 142, while the number running an eTA or a digital arrival card did not change at all.

The clearest pattern was compulsion, with 17 of those events describing something becoming required, each of them completed before departure rather than at the border. India and Thailand moved most on eight recorded events each, ahead of the European Union and South Africa on seven. Not every mandate held, as a Kenyan court suspended the insurance requirement attached to that country's eTA.

Several announcements carry future dates. New Zealand ends paper applications for 24 visitor visa categories on 1 October, Egypt raises its single-entry visa fee to $33 from 1 January 2027, ETIAS slipped again and is now expected in 2027, and Japan published JESTA for its 2028 fiscal year, requiring a separate application for every entry.