News

The Tourism Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has announced that legal residents of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries can now apply for a Saudi electronic visa regardless of profession. In September 2022, Saudi Arabia opened the eVisa application to GCC residents who worked in select occupations. However, this requirement has now been

Brazilian officials have announced that the country will bring back visa requirements for citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, and the US. These nationalities were made temporarily visa-exempt following a decision by former president, Jair Bolsonaro, in an effort to boost Brazil’s tourism sector. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, travelers from the 4 countries had to

The Chinese government has announced that China’s borders have now reopened to foreign tourists for the first time in over 3 years. The move follows the relaxation of Chinese COVID restrictions for business travelers and family visits in early January. The Chinese government also declared a “decisive victory” over the pandemic in February. Chinese Ministry

The government of the United Kingdom has announced a new UK entry requirement for citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, as well as Jordan. By early 2024, it will be mandatory for these nationals to have an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to visit the UK. The UK ETA requirement will first come into effect

The launch of ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) has been delayed until 2024, the European Commission has confirmed. The EC had previously announced that the ETIAS visa waiver would launch in November 2023. However, it has been postponed due to associated systems not being ready for the implementation. These include the Entry/Exit System

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have announced several reforms to online visa services. These include the option to extend a 90-day UAE visitor visa for an additional 30-day stay. Under the new rules, it is also possible to electronically extend single-entry or multiple-entry visit visas for a relative or friend. This applies to tourist

The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire—the Ivory Coast—has officially reopened its land borders, which have been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to growing coronavirus cases, all land borders in the Ivory Coast were closed on 22 March 2020. Almost 3 years later, they have reopened to allow movement to and from

Russian authorities have announced the decision to restart the electronic visa system. The government will confirm a date for its reintroduction by June 1, 2023. The Russian E-Visa program was activated in 2020. The online system allowed citizens of eligible countries to obtain a visa for their trip to Russia completely online. The new visa

Singapore has lifted all COVID-19 entry restrictions for visitors, including those who are not fully vaccinated. Travelers can now enter the country without showing any coronavirus paperwork. The change came into effect on 13 February 2022. From this date onwards, passengers face no additional border restrictions. This includes no longer showing a COVID-19 vaccine certificate

The Kingdom of Morocco has added more eligible countries to its new e-Visa system. The Morocco electronic visa was launched in 2022 to facilitate faster and easier travel for citizens of over 100 nations. Passport holders of these countries can now apply for a short-stay visa for Morocco completely online. The new immigration system is

Foreign visitors may be able to enjoy visa-free trips to Thailand for up to 45 days until the end of the year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has proposed keeping the initiative in place for the whole of 2023. The original plan was to return to the previous maximum of 30 days after March

A passport is the key to traveling abroad. However, some passports are considered to be “stronger” than others. The world’s most powerful passports are those that offer the greatest travel freedom. The strongest passports are those that allow the holder to enter the most countries easily, without extra entry requirements, such as visas. There are