New offerings from sherpa in June 2025
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates eVisa: Nationals of Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, and Vietnam are now eligible to apply online through sherpa, adding to the 36 nationalities already supported including Egypt, India, and Türkiye.
Global visa policy changes in June 2025
- 🇺🇸 The United States announced visa restrictions from June 9th for nationals of 19 countries: 12 countries (including Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti) cannot apply for most US visas, while 7 countries (including Cuba, Venezuela) face restrictions on specific visa categories. Current visa holders and permanent residents remain unaffected.
- 🇨🇳 China added Indonesia to its 240-hour visa-free transit program on June 12th.
- 🇷🇺 Russia requires visa-exempt visitors (such as nationals of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan) to register via the Gosuslugi RuID app before arrival from June 30th. Nationals of Belarus and children under 6 are exempt.
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia reopened entry for Umrah from June 10th and reinstated eVisa processing for nationals of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- 🇨🇺 Cuba announced that new Tourist Cards will not be issued after June 30th, with only eVisas to be issued from July 1st onwards. Existing Tourist Cards will remain valid until December 31st, 2025. Travelers flying with Canadian airlines are only required to complete the D'Viajeros form.
Future changes announced in June 2025
- 🇪🇺 The EU announced a Travel to Europe mobile app will launch autumn 2025, allowing non-EU travelers to submit passport info and photo up to 72 hours before arrival. Initial rollout will begin at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, with planned expansions to the Netherlands, France, and Italy in 2026.
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand announced that from November 1st, 2025, Chinese nationals with Australian visitor, work, student, or family visas can apply for an ETA for 90-day visits.
- 🇿🇦 South Africa announced it will launch an ETA program for visa-required nationals by the end of September 2025.
- 🇹🇷 Türkiye announced that nationals of Vietnam can visit with an eVisa from September 1st, 2025 without requiring third-country supporting documents.
Visa policy changes beginning in July 2025
- July 1: 🇯🇵 Japan: 90-day visa-free access for Peru nationals; UAE nationals' visa-free stay extended from 30 to 90 days.
- July 1: 🇦🇲 Armenia: 90-day visa-free access for Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia nationals.
- July 1: 🇵🇭 The Philippines: 14-day visa-free access for Taiwan nationals.
- July 15: 🇨🇳🇦🇿 China-Azerbaijan: 30-day mutual visa-free access for both nationals.
- July 17: 🇲🇴 Macao SAR: 30-day visa-free access for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain nationals.
