Not too long ago, crossing a border meant filling out a paper form on the plane (usually with a borrowed pen) and handing your passport to the border officer for a stamp. That’s changing fast. Countries from India to South Korea have moved their arrival cards online, and more countries now screen visa-free visitors online before they board. The result is a new set of documents with similar-sounding names: visa, ETA, arrival card. Are they the same thing? Do you need one, two, or all three?
Our short answers. A visa and an ETA both let you travel to a country, so for a single trip you’ll usually need one or the other, not both. An arrival card is different: a short form about your trip that many countries ask for in addition to that permission. Most travelers need one or two of these documents. Very few trips need all three.
Below, we break down what each document does, how they compare, and how to work out which ones your trip requires.
What is a visa?
A visa is official permission from a country’s government to visit for a specific purpose, such as tourism, business, or study. Whether you need one depends on two things: your nationality and your destination.
Visas come in a few forms. Some, like the Vietnam eVisa or the Brazil Tourist eVisa, you apply for online and receive by email. Others need an embassy or consulate appointment. Some countries offer a visa on arrival, and a few, like Indonesia with its eVOA, let you pre-approve it online.
Visas usually require more information than the other two documents and often take longer to process. That’s why it pays to start early.
What is an ETA?
An ETA, also known as an Electronic Travel Authorization, is a digital pre-travel approval for people who don’t need a visa. It lets a country screen visa-exempt visitors before they board, without the full visa process.
Well-known examples include the UK ETA, the US ESTA, and Canada’s eTA. More countries are adding them every year, and new systems keep appearing for visa-free visitors.
An ETA isn’t a visa, but it serves a similar purpose: without it, your airline may not let you board. It’s typically linked electronically to your passport and is often valid for multiple trips over a set period. Because it replaces a visa for eligible travelers, you’ll normally need either a visa or an ETA for a given country, not both.
What is an arrival card?
An arrival card is a short form that tells immigration who you are, why you’re visiting, how long you’ll stay, and where you’ll stay. It’s also called a landing card, disembarkation card, or incoming passenger card. Some versions also include health or customs questions.
The most important thing to know: an arrival card is not a visa and doesn’t grant permission to enter. It sits alongside your visa, ETA, or visa exemption.
Arrival cards used to be paper forms handed out on the plane. Today, many countries have moved them online and require you to complete them before you fly, usually within 72 hours of arrival. Examples include the Thailand Digital Arrival Card, SG Arrival Card, Malaysia Digital Arrival Card, India e-Arrival Card, and All Indonesia Arrival Card.
Unlike a visa, an arrival card generally depends on where you’re going, not your passport. If a country requires one, it usually applies to all foreign visitors, including those who don’t need a visa.
Do you need all three?
Almost never. Think of it as two separate questions:
- Do I need permission to visit? That’s a visa or an ETA, depending on your nationality. Some travelers need neither.
- Does my destination use an arrival card? If yes, you’ll usually need one on top of whatever answer you got to question 1.
That gives you a few common combinations:
- Arrival card only: Visa-exempt travelers heading to a country like Thailand or Singapore may not need a visa or ETA but still need the digital arrival card.
- ETA only: Visa-exempt travelers visiting the UK or the US typically need an ETA or ESTA, and the US no longer uses arrival cards.
- Visa plus arrival card: Travelers who need an eVisa for India also need the India e-Arrival Card. They’re separate documents filed separately.
- ETA or arrival card: South Korea is an interesting case: travelers holding a valid K-ETA are exempt from the e-Arrival Card.
Requirements change often and vary by passport, so treat these as examples rather than rules. Always confirm the full entry requirements for your trip with your airline before you travel.
Common mistakes to avoid
Most problems come down to small details, not the wrong document:
- Assuming visa-free means paperwork-free: Many visa-exempt travelers still need an ETA or an arrival card.
- Submitting outside the window: Arrival cards filed too early may be rejected. If you file too late, you could miss your flight.
- Forgetting the kids: Every traveler, including infants on a parent’s passport, usually needs their own arrival card.
- Typos in passport details: A single wrong digit can hold you up at boarding. Some systems won’t let you fix your name or passport number afterward, so you’d have to start again.
- Not saving the confirmation: Download or screenshot your QR code before closing the page.
You can always apply directly with the government. If you’d rather have support, iVisa handles visas, ETAs, and arrival cards in one place. We tell you which documents you need for your trip, guide you through shorter forms, and review every application for errors before submitting it.
You receive official government documents. iVisa’s service fee covers the guided application, expert review, and 24/7 support in 14+ languages, and any government fee is shown separately. With 99% of our applicants approved and more than 3 million travelers served since 2013, we’ve seen most of the mistakes above and how to catch them.
