Update · 2026-09-15

2026 visa policy changes: what's different this year

A verified roundup of 2026 visa changes: Japan's July tourist-visa fee increase, the EU's live EES and upcoming ETIAS, China's extended visa-free policy for Russians, and more.

2025 and 2026 have been unusually busy years for visa policy. Several changes are big enough to change how you plan a trip — new biometric borders in Europe, higher Japanese tourist-visa fees, new or repriced travel authorisations, and a handful of countries dropping visa-on-arrival. The roundup was reviewed on 24 July 2026; the China–Russia visa-free expiry was corrected from an official government announcement on 15 September 2026.

Europe: EES is live, ETIAS is next

The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational on 10 April 2026. At external Schengen borders, passport stamps are being replaced by a biometric record (facial image + fingerprints) taken on your first entry. There's no fee and no application — it happens at the border.

The separate ETIAS travel authorization is expected in the last quarter of 2026. It will cost €20 (free for under-18s and over-70s), be valid up to 3 years, and apply to visa-exempt nationals — Americans, Britons, Japanese, Australians, and so on. ETIAS is not operating and not mandatory yet; the EU says travelers should take no action until it announces a firm launch date.

Two more Schengen notes: Bulgaria and Romania became full Schengen members on 1 January 2025, so the 90-days-in-180 short-stay clock now spans them too. And the EU visa-exemption list is unchanged — nationalities that needed a Schengen visa before (e.g. Chinese and Indian passport holders) still do, and ETIAS does not apply to them.

China: the visa-free list keeps growing

China's unilateral 30-day visa-free policy has expanded dramatically and now covers roughly 50 countries, valid through 31 December 2026 for most. Ordinary passport holders can enter for tourism, business, family visits, exchanges or transit — no visa, no application.

Recently added: the United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden.
Added earlier in 2025: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Validity differs in a few cases — China's visa-free policy for Russian ordinary-passport holders has been extended through 31 December 2027; Brunei's has no expiry.

China also runs a generous 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit for many more nationalities at designated ports. If you hold a passport that isn't on the unilateral list, check whether your route qualifies for transit instead.

Japan: tourist-visa fees rose on 1 July

Japan's general consular fee is now about JPY 15,000 for a single-entry visa and JPY 30,000 for a double- or multiple-entry visa, up from the former JPY 3,000 / 6,000 benchmarks. Missions charge in local currency: for example, the official tables show CNY 715 / 1,430 in mainland China, IDR 1,650,000 / 3,330,000 in Indonesia and ZAR 1,820 / 3,640 in South Africa.

Nationality exceptions still matter. Philippine temporary-visitor visas remain free, Indian nationals applying in India continue to pay INR 500, and applicable Russian-national applications remain fee-exempt. Use the Japanese mission responsible for your residence rather than converting the JPY figure yourself.

New "you need authorization before you fly" systems

Several countries replaced on-arrival processing with mandatory pre-travel authorizations. The pattern is the same everywhere: apply online, get approved, then board.

United Kingdom — ETA. Most visa-exempt visitors need an ETA before boarding. It costs GBP 20, normally permits visits up to 6 months and lasts 2 years or until the linked passport expires.
United States — ESTA. Visa Waiver Program travelers pay USD 40.27 for ESTA. Apply at least 72 hours before departure; approval normally lasts 2 years or until the passport expires and allows visits up to 90 days.
Kenya — eTA. Kenya replaced most visitor visas with an eTA. Non-exempt visitors pay from USD 30; standard processing is listed as 3 business days, but the authority recommends applying about 2 weeks ahead.

Canada: more Indonesian and Malaysian travelers can use an eTA

Since 26 May 2026, eligible Indonesian and Malaysian citizens flying to Canada can use the CAD 7 eTA route if they held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years or currently hold a valid US non-immigrant visa. Travelers arriving by land or sea, or those without a qualifying visa history, still need a Canadian visitor visa.

US visa services in Africa: new regional hubs from 1 August

The US Department of State is realigning routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services from 25 African posts to designated regional hubs from 1 August 2026. Applicants should follow the location shown by the official appointment system rather than relying on an old embassy list. Existing valid US visas are not cancelled by this operational change.

Countries that dropped visa-on-arrival

A few destinations made entry harder by withdrawing visa-on-arrival — so the old "sort it out at the airport" approach no longer works:

Pakistan suspended its visa-on-arrival and free Visa-Prior-to-Arrival programs on 1 January 2026 for 126 nationalities. You now need a paid e-visa via the official NADRA portal, with processing that can take 1–3 weeks — so no more last-minute trips.
Iraq suspended visa-on-arrival for ~37 nationalities in March 2025; federal Iraq now requires an eVisa via evisa.iq before arrival (the Kurdistan Region runs a separate system).

eVisa and fee changes worth knowing

Brazil reintroduced an eVisa requirement for US, Canadian and Australian tourists (VITUR online system).
Kyrgyzstan shortened its visa-free allowance from 60 days/120 to a maximum of 30 days within any 60-day period (Resolution No. 855, effective 31 December 2025) for ~55 nationalities.
Madagascar tripled its short-stay eVisa fee to €30 (about USD 35) from €10, effective 16 February 2026.

What this means for planning

Heading to Europe? Nothing extra to file yet, but expect biometric capture at the border now and an ETIAS application later in 2026.
Applying for a Japanese visa? Recheck the local mission's post-1 July fee table and nationality exceptions.
Going to China? Check the visa-free list first — you may not need a visa at all anymore.
Anywhere with a new ETA/eVisa/“authorization before boarding” rule: apply days to weeks ahead, not at the airport.
Always confirm on the official government portal before booking non-refundable travel — these rules are moving fast in 2026.

Every country-pair guide on canivisit.com cites its official sources and a last-verified date. Use the checker to see the current rule for your exact passport and destination.