ETAs are considered a form of electronic pre-approval that destination countries may require of travellers ahead of embarking on their trip. They are typically reserved and intended for travellers that otherwise already qualify for visa-free entry (and where little is known about the traveller ahead of travel) and are aimed at streamlining the travel process while adding security pre-screening and data efficiency to this digital and often largely automated process. Like a visa, it is important to recognise that an ETA only provides permission for the holder to travel to the issuing country, and that entry remains subject to the final determination of immigration officials at the border.
ETAs enable the issuing country to identify certain risks posed by individual travellers by comparing their details to national or international databases, sometimes to screen for infectious diseases (some ETAs may require the applicant to undertake a health check for public health reasons), or to check for a criminal record (character criteria). Some of the information is gathered through self-declarations by the applicant, while other information may be obtained by means, for example through automated cross-checks by the host country against information that is either already at hand or contained in international databases and other sources. Algorithms may also be developed to help detect other risk factors.
While ETAs are not a common feature in African travel regimes, several electronic systems to manage visa-exempt arrivals ahead of time have been in place for several decades elsewhere. Early adopters of an ETA include Australia (1996), followed by the United States (2008) and Canada (2015). More recently, the United Kingdom (UK) introduced a limited ETA (late 2023) while the European Union (EU) aims to launch its own ETA by mid-2025. Several other countries offer ETA systems, including Korea, New Zealand and Mexico, while Thailand, Israel and Japan plan to launch an ETA for citizens that qualify for visa-free entry soon.
Globally, ETAs display several common traits. Most commonly intended for short visits only (90 days or less), they generally cover multiple entries to a country and are valid for several years, with two-three years being the norm, and as many as five years (Canada). They are also not limited to tourism travel but tend to cover certain classes of business-related travel too, or even short-term study. A general proviso is that business travel under an ETA may not involve earning an income from a local company; in other words, local employment or sales are not permissible, while attending conferences, trade shows and business meetings would pass. ETAs typically also don’t require the applicant to provide a detailed travel itinerary and are generally limited to basic biometric data alongside some security-related and health questions. In terms of cost, this is generally in the range of USD 5–USD 15, with several countries facilitating the application process through a dedicated smartphone app.
For citizens of African countries – and abroad – that previously required a visa ahead of travel, however, the ETA offers improvements in terms of ease of use, time savings and cost, compared to obtaining a visa ahead of travel.
The attractiveness of an ETA to help digitise aspects of the immigration process for travellers, for national security purposes through pre-screening, for basic information capture and data management alongside efficiency benefits, cannot be disputed. From a traveller’s perspective, in terms of easing and facilitating the movement of people across borders, the benefits are often tenuous and are entirely conditional on the substantive aspects and costs of the ETA. New or additional costs to travellers that go beyond at most a nominal contribution towards system cost recovery by the host country (bearing in mind demonstrable efficiency improvements and savings in countries’ immigration overheads and infrastructure), ETA lead times that undermine spontaneous travel, the need for confirmed itineraries and accommodation, can all serve as impediments to free movement of people and undermine the inherent benefits that ETA systems potentially offer. The line between sometimes onerous ETA systems and e-visa processes becomes blurred.
Like in other jurisdictions, ETAs should, at a minimum, be electronically linked within the host country’s immigration system to applicants’ passport details and biometric data and include much longer periods of validity than is currently the case. An ETA that requires only basic information from the applicant (a copy of a passport and basic related details) could then arguably be considered a valid security instrument for the host country rather than a visa in disguise.
Several of the ETAs mentioned above feature aspects that minimise the overhead for travellers while still addressing host countries’ immigration system efficiency and security priorities around inward travel.
4 Visaindex.com 5 travel-europe.europa.eu
