The Department publishes who needs an ETA, which passports currently pay zero, and what the application checks. It does not publish the live form's regexes, character limits or error text, so this guide invents none. The eight cards below are preparation checks taken from those public pages.
Check the fee for your exact passport before paying anyone. Since 25 May 2026 the tourist ETA is free for 40 named nationalities plus Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore. Free still means you apply for the ETA.
Enter nationality exactly as written in the travel document. Maldivian nationals in the free scheme receive 90 days. Other free-scheme tourists receive 30 days and double entry.
Copy the passport number from the passport itself. A value taken from a booking confirmation or an old visa is the common source of a mismatch at the border.
Match the date printed in the travel document, and use the date format the application screen shows. This guide does not restate a format the Department has not published.
The passport must be valid for at least 6 months. Check the expiry date before applying. Renewing the passport later means applying for a new ETA.
Present the same travel document at arrival that you used in the application. Dual nationals should pick one document and use it for both the ETA and the flight.
A confirmed return or onward ticket is a published entry requirement. Keep it retrievable offline, because airport wifi is not guaranteed at the counter.
Sufficient funds for the stay are a published requirement. An approved ETA does not close the door on questions at the port of entry.
The official site shows a confirmation on screen. Screenshot it — that's your backup.
The approval and its reference number go to the address you entered. Save the message; a payment receipt alone is not an approval.
Keep the ETA approval and its reference number, and travel on the same document used in the application. The approval lets you board and present yourself at the border; the officer still decides admission and the permitted stay.
Keep the approval on your phone or on paper, together with the same travel document used in the application.
An ETA is an authorisation to travel. Passport validity, the return ticket and funds can still be checked at the port of entry.
The live ETA form does not publish readable validation attributes, character limits or error text, so this guide states none. What follows is the Department’s own published requirements, in the order that saves the most time.
Since 25 May 2026, 40 named nationalities plus Maldives, Seychelles and Singapore pay nothing for the tourist ETA. Children under 12 and two-day transit are also free. Everyone else pays USD 20 online as a SAARC national, or USD 50 online otherwise.
Check the fee for your exact passport before handing money to anyone. If the fee is zero, zero is what the application should ask for.
Nationality drives both the fee and the permitted stay. Copy it from the travel document rather than from a residence permit or a boarding pass. Maldivian nationals in the free scheme receive 90 days; other free-scheme tourists receive 30 days and double entry.
A correct passport number is a published application requirement. Take it from the passport itself. Numbers copied from a booking confirmation or an old visa are the usual reason a record fails to match at the border.
Enter the date printed in the travel document, using the date format shown on the application screen. The Department has not published a format for this field, and this guide does not invent one.
The passport must be valid for at least 6 months. Check the expiry date before applying, not after. If you renew the passport after approval, you need a new ETA.
The approval is tied to the travel document used in the application. Present that same document at arrival. Dual nationals should pick one document and use it for the ETA, the ticket and the border.
A confirmed return or onward ticket is a published entry requirement. Keep it retrievable without wifi, because the check can happen at a check-in counter rather than at your hotel.
Sufficient funds for the stay are also published. An approved ETA does not end the questions at the port of entry; it lets you get there and be asked them.
Applying on arrival costs more than applying online, and a referral at the port can end in return travel. That gap is the practical reason to finish the online application before departure.
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