iVisa has launched a Global Policy Tracker that records visa, ETA and arrival-card rule changes. The free tool updates weekly and has logged at least 97 changes in 61 countries since October 2025, based on government and verified sources.
Travel demand spikes amid tighter rules
The United Nations World Tourism Organization reported 1.52 billion international tourist arrivals this year, roughly 60 million more than in 2024 and the highest total on record.
Analysis of the tracker’s data points to a broader tightening of entry requirements. The Henley Passport Index 2026 Global Mobility Report noted that the United States and the United Kingdom each suffered their steepest annual losses in visa-free access, with the U.S. dropping seven destinations and the U.K. eight.
U.S. and U.K. entry policies tighten
Congressional Research Service figures cited by the tracker show 39 countries now face a full or partial U.S. travel ban, up from about 16 in mid-2025.
A Department of Homeland Security proposal posted in December 2025, still under White House budget review, would obligate citizens of all 42 Visa Waiver Program nations—including the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Australia—to disclose five years of social-media activity, ten-year email histories and family contact details.
The United Kingdom made its electronic travel authorization mandatory for 85 nationalities in February 2026. A summer-season outage caused delays exceeding 60 hours for some travelers, and carriers faced fines of up to £2,000 per passenger for boarding ineligible travelers, according to Home Office data.
Digital entry forms spread worldwide
At least 16 countries now require digital arrival cards, among them South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. These forms are separate from visas or ETAs and must be completed before travel.
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The European Union’s Entry/Exit System went live across 29 Schengen states in April 2026. Within days, an easyJet flight left 122 passengers stranded in Milan, and by summer some border checkpoints reported wait times of up to five hours, according to the European Commission.
Nine member states asked Brussels to pause the rollout, but the request was denied. The EU has postponed its planned €20 ETIAS travel authorization, originally slated for late 2026, to an undefined point in 2027.
Other recent visa shifts
Sri Lanka’s pre-departure ETA became mandatory on 15 October 2025, was revoked on 30 October, suffered a system disruption in February 2026 that delayed approvals, and was reinstated on 25 May 2026.
Japan increased its single-entry visa fee from ¥3,000 to ¥15,000 in July, marking the first rise in nearly five decades.
David Perez, co-founder and chief executive officer of iVisa, said customer queries drove the project. “Every one of these changes looks small on its own: a new form here, a fee increase there. Add them up over a year, and the pattern is unmistakable: the rules are moving faster than most travelers, or the airlines and agencies serving them, can keep track of. It feels like the right moment to put that pattern in one place because our own customers kept asking the same question: ‘Did something change since the last time I traveled?’ Now there’s somewhere to check.”
The tracker currently emphasizes high-traffic routes and English-language sources, meaning it does not capture every policy shift worldwide but aims to cover the changes that affect the largest number of travelers.
