# ESTA, ETIAS, UK ETA, Canada eTA: Which Do You Need? > ESTA, B1/B2 visa, UK ETA, ETIAS or Canada eTA? A plain-language guide to which US, UK, Europe or Canada requirement your trip needs — fees, validity, scenarios. Canonical: https://chartavisa.com/guides/which-travel-authorization Last updated: 2026-07-28 ## One question, five possible answers As borders go digital, "do I need a visa?" has become "which authorisation do I need — and is it a visa at all?" For travel to the West there are now **five** systems that matter: the US ESTA, the US B1/B2 visitor visa, the UK ETA, Europe's ETIAS and the Canada eTA. Which one applies to you depends on exactly two things: **your nationality** and **where you are going**. This guide walks through all five in plain language — but if you just want the answer, our free [visa checker](https://chartavisa.com/tools/visa-checker) tells you in seconds which requirement applies to your passport and destination. ## The five options, one by one ### ESTA — the United States, for visa-waiver nationals **Who it is for:** citizens of the ~40 Visa Waiver Program countries — most of the EU, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and others — visiting the US for tourism, business or transit. **Fee and validity:** $40, valid two years (or until your passport expires), multiple entries, stays up to 90 days. Applied for online; most approvals arrive within a day, so allow at least 72 hours. Full details in our [ESTA guide](https://chartavisa.com/guides/what-is-esta). ### B1/B2 visitor visa — the United States, for everyone else This is the path most comparison articles skip, and it affects the majority of the world's travellers: **if your passport is not in the Visa Waiver Program, no ESTA exists for you**. Citizens of India, China, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Nigeria and most of Africa, Asia and Latin America need an actual **B1/B2 visitor visa** to enter the US. That means completing the DS-160 form online, paying the **$185** government (MRV) fee, and attending an interview at a US embassy or consulate. It is a genuine visa: more paperwork, real waiting times for interview slots — but once issued it is often valid for up to ten years with multiple entries, depending on nationality. Our [B1/B2 visa requirements guide](https://chartavisa.com/guides/b1-b2-visa-requirements) covers the process step by step. ### UK ETA — the United Kingdom **Who it is for:** everyone who could previously visit the UK without a visa — including Americans, Canadians, Australians and, since 2025, EU citizens. **Fee and validity:** £20, valid two years (or until your passport expires), multiple entries, stays up to six months. A short online or app application, usually decided within days. See our [UK ETA guide](https://chartavisa.com/guides/what-is-uk-eta). ### ETIAS — Schengen Europe (not open yet) ETIAS will eventually cover visa-free visitors to 30 European countries: one authorisation for the whole Schengen area, planned at **€20** with three-year validity. The crucial fact: **ETIAS is not open, and as of July 2026 the EU has published no launch date**. Nothing is required today — visa-free travellers keep entering Europe exactly as before under the [90/180-day rule](https://chartavisa.com/guides/schengen-90-180-rule) — and any website claiming to accept ETIAS applications right now is not legitimate. Read what is actually known in our [ETIAS guide](https://chartavisa.com/guides/what-is-etias). ### Canada eTA — Canada, by air **Who it is for:** visa-exempt nationals (the UK, EU, Australia, Japan and ~50 others) *flying* to or transiting through Canada — it is not needed at land or sea borders, and US citizens and green-card holders are exempt entirely. **Fee and validity:** CA$7 — the cheapest of the lot — valid five years or until your passport expires, multiple entries, stays typically up to six months. Online application, often approved in minutes. Full details in our [Canada eTA guide](https://chartavisa.com/guides/what-is-canada-eta). ## Which do you need? Common scenarios - **German (or French, Spanish, Italian…) citizen visiting New York** → ESTA. All EU Visa Waiver Program members qualify. - **Indian citizen visiting the US** → B1/B2 visitor visa via DS-160. India is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so no ESTA is possible. - **American visiting London** → UK ETA. US citizens now need one for any UK visit up to six months. - **Brazilian citizen visiting Miami** → B1/B2 visitor visa. Brazil is not a Visa Waiver Program country either. - **Australian visiting Paris** → nothing today. ETIAS will apply once it launches, but no start date is published, so current travel is unchanged. - **British citizen flying to Toronto** → Canada eTA. Driving in from the US instead? No eTA needed at the land border. - **EU citizen touring New York and London in one trip** → both an ESTA and a UK ETA. Authorisations are destination-specific, and one trip can need several. Your situation not listed? The [visa checker](https://chartavisa.com/tools/visa-checker) handles every combination we support, and the [visa requirements hub](https://chartavisa.com/visa) has a dedicated page for each nationality and destination. ## What the four authorisations have in common - All are completed **online before travel** and linked electronically to your passport — no embassy visit, no interview. - None is a visa. They cover **short stays** only: tourism, business meetings, family visits, transit. Working or moving abroad needs a proper visa regardless. - All are **multi-entry**: apply once, travel repeatedly for two to five years. - Approval lets you board — **the border officer always makes the final entry decision**. The B1/B2 is the odd one out: a real visa with a real interview. If the US is your destination, which path you take is decided purely by whether your nationality is in the Visa Waiver Program — there is no choosing between them. ## Budgeting a multi-country trip Government fees range from CA$7 to $185, and a single itinerary can stack several: a traveller covering the US, the UK and Canada in one year could pay for an ESTA, a UK ETA and an eTA before booking a single hotel. To see the true paperwork cost of an itinerary — including processing options — try our [entry cost calculator](https://chartavisa.com/tools/entry-cost-calculator). ## The bottom line Match your **passport** to your **destination**: ESTA or B1/B2 for the US (the Visa Waiver Program decides which), UK ETA for the UK, eTA for flying to Canada, and — for now — nothing extra for Europe until ETIAS actually launches. When in doubt, [check your exact requirement](https://chartavisa.com/tools/visa-checker) before you book, and apply early: fast approval is the norm in every system, but never the promise. ## FAQ **Do I need more than one travel authorisation?** Possibly. They are destination-specific, so visiting the US, UK, Europe and Canada in one year could mean holding an ESTA, a UK ETA and a Canada eTA — and, once it launches, an ETIAS for Europe. **What if my country is not in the US Visa Waiver Program?** Then no ESTA exists for you. You need a B1/B2 visitor visa instead: the DS-160 form online, the $185 government fee, and an interview at a US embassy or consulate. Citizens of India, China, Brazil and most of Africa, Asia and Latin America take this route. **Which travel authorisation is the cheapest?** The Canada eTA at CA$7. The UK ETA is £20, ETIAS is planned at €20, ESTA is $40 — and the US B1/B2 visitor visa fee is $185. **Which one lasts the longest?** Among the authorisations, the Canada eTA at five years; ETIAS is planned for three, while ESTA and the UK ETA last two. A B1/B2 visitor visa — a full visa, not an authorisation — can be issued for up to ten years depending on nationality. **When does ETIAS launch?** There is no published launch date as of July 2026. Nothing is required for Europe today — visa-free travel continues unchanged — and no legitimate site can accept an ETIAS application yet. **Are any of these a visa?** The four authorisations — ESTA, UK ETA, ETIAS and Canada eTA — are not visas; they are online approvals for visa-exempt travellers. The US B1/B2 is a real visa, with a consular interview, for nationalities the Visa Waiver Program does not cover. ## Sources - [U.S. Customs and Border Protection — ESTA](https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/) - [U.S. Department of State — Visitor Visa (B1/B2)](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html) - [GOV.UK — Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)](https://www.gov.uk/eta) - [European Union — ETIAS](https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en) - [Government of Canada — Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta.html)