I renewed my passport — are my visas still valid?

One distinction answers almost every version of this question. A visa sticker is issued to <em>you</em> and stays usable in the old book. An electronic authorisation is bound to the <em>travel document</em> you applied with, and does not survive being replaced. Once you know which kind you hold, the rest follows.

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The rule in one line

Stickers travel with the person. Electronic authorisations travel with the document.

A physical visa in an expired passport is generally still usable — you simply carry both books. An ESTA, eTA, ETA or ETIAS approval is tied to the passport you applied with, so a new passport means a new application. Everything below is that principle applied scheme by scheme.

A visa sticker in an old passport

For the United States, a valid visa in an expired passport can still be used. The US Embassy's guidance is that you may travel with both passports "as long as the visa is valid, not damaged, and is the appropriate type of visa required for" your trip, and that both should be from the same country. You present the expired book containing the visa alongside your new valid passport.

Do not remove the sticker. The same guidance is blunt: "Do not try to remove the visa from your old passport and stick it into the new unexpired passport. If you do this, your visa will no longer be valid." Cutting, peeling or transferring a visa destroys it. Leave it where it is.

Two practical cautions. First, some passport authorities cancel an old book by clipping or punching it, which can damage the visa page — cancellation methods differ by issuing country, so check with whoever issues your passport before handing it over. Second, this is the US rule; other countries have their own, so confirm with the destination before relying on it.

Electronic authorisations: what a new passport breaks

Each of these is linked to the document you applied with, and each has its own official wording:

• ESTA (United States) — CBP requires an approved ESTA for the specific passport you plan to travel on, and states that travellers who acquire a new passport must submit a new ESTA application. A new application means paying the fee again.
• eTA (Canada) — IRCC states an eTA is "electronically linked to a traveller's passport", is valid up to five years or until that passport expires, whichever comes first, and that "if you get a new passport, you need to get a new eTA".
• ETA (United Kingdom) — GOV.UK states an ETA "lasts for 2 years and is linked to your passport", and that "if your passport has expired or changed, you'll need to apply for a new ETA". You must travel on the passport you applied with.
• ETIAS (Europe) — the official EU site states an ETIAS authorisation "is linked to the travel document" and that you must apply for a new one "if you changed your travel document for any reason". It will be valid three years or until that document expires, whichever comes first. Note the EU's wording is "travel document", not "passport number".

For background on how these schemes differ from visas, see visa on arrival vs eVisa vs ETA, or the individual explainers under travel authorisations.

Australia is the exception worth knowing

Australia does not treat all of its schemes the same way, and generalising here will get you the wrong answer.

For the Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601), Home Affairs states an existing ETA cannot be transferred to a new passport and you must apply for a new ETA using the new one.

For other Australian visas — including the eVisitor (subclass 651), which Home Affairs does not exclude from this process — you instead notify the department of your new passport details so the existing visa can be linked to the new document. You do not reapply.

So the honest summary is: check which Australian authorisation you actually hold, because one requires a fresh application and the other requires a form.

ETIAS is not yet running

Because this question comes up constantly: as things stand, the official EU site states that ETIAS "is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point", and that the EU will announce the specific start date in advance.

The European Commission has indicated a start in the last quarter of 2026, but no exact date has been announced and the timeline has moved more than once. Treat any specific launch date you see elsewhere as unconfirmed — and do not confuse ETIAS with the Entry/Exit System, which is a separate border-registration programme.

A checklist before you fly on a renewed passport

1. Sort what you hold into two piles — physical stickers, and electronic approvals.
2. Stickers: carry both passports, check the visa is undamaged and still valid, and never remove it.
3. Electronic approvals: assume each needs a fresh application, and budget for the fee and processing time again.
4. Australia: identify whether you hold an ETA 601 (reapply) or another visa (notify).
5. Re-check the requirement itself for your new document with the visa checker — rules change independently of your passport.

While you are at it, check the validity window on the new book against the six-month passport rule, and make sure you know the difference between visa validity and permitted stay.

Frequently asked questions