Your next trip starts here.
Your cart is empty. Choose a destination to get started.
Browse destinations
In this guide 9 sections
Disclosure. We are The SIM Shop, an Australian travel eSIM retailer. We do not sell arrival cards, visas or anything else on this page, and none of these forms needs a travel eSIM to complete. The useful first step is choosing the official form and its submission window, before paying for any separate visa or levy.
Japan does not require the Visit Japan Web digital route. Its customs declaration is still required; the paper alternative remains available. Japan Customs says it recommends electronic submission through Visit Japan Web, and that the paper customs declaration form “can still be used”.
All four are free. Every one of them. If a site asks you for money to submit an arrival card, it is not the government site.
New Zealand is the only one that gives you no code to show. Its declaration attaches to your passport and gets checked at the eGate or by a border officer. Thailand, Indonesia and Japan give you a QR or 2D code to keep handy.
Do them at home on wifi when each window opens. None of these needs mobile data, and doing them on the couch is easier than doing them in a queue.
The four, side by side
Checked 3 September 2026 against the sources named in each row.
Scroll sideways to compare
| Country | Required? | When to submit | Cost | What you show on arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) | Yes | Within 3 days before arriving | Free | A QR code |
| Indonesia All Indonesia Arrival Card | Yes | Within 72 hours of travel | Free | A QR code |
| New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) | Yes for people entering New Zealand | From 24 hours before you start your trip, and before passport control | Free | No code. It is linked to your passport |
| Japan Visit Japan Web | No, recommended | Before arrival, if you choose to use it | Free | A 2D code, on your phone or tablet |
Australian government advice covers three of these directly. Smartraveller states you “must complete a Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) within 3 days before arriving in Thailand”, that “All international passengers are required to complete the All Indonesia Arrival Card online and within 72 hours (3 days) of your travel to Indonesia”, and that you “must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration Form (NZTD) before passport control on arrival”.
The part worth reading twice: they are free, and people are being charged
The trap to avoid is paying a look-alike site for a free official form. Use the government links below before entering passport or payment details.
Smartraveller’s Thailand advice says it plainly: the TDAC “is free of charge and must be submitted online through the Thailand Immigration Bureau website”, followed by “Beware of fake websites charging you a fee for the TDAC.”
Japan’s Digital Agency has posted its own warning, listing “Suspicious apps such as ‘Visit Japan Web Info'” among its announcements.
A paid assistance service can appear above the official form in search results and look reassuringly similar. Even if it submits the form, you’ve paid for help you may not need and given another business your passport and travel details. Start with the official government link.
Type the official address, or follow the government link from Smartraveller’s destination page. The official arrival cards here are free; if a page asks for a card number just to submit one, close it and return to the official link.
What each one actually asks for
None of these is difficult. Have your passport, flight and first accommodation details ready; family entries and registration problems can take longer than one simple form.
Thailand’s TDAC wants your passport details, flight number, where you are staying, your travel purpose and health declaration information. Submit within three days of arrival, not earlier, which is the detail that catches people who try to do it a fortnight out. Airside transit without passing immigration is exempt.
Indonesia’s All Indonesia card replaced a set of separate declarations that used to be handled by four different agencies. One form now covers immigration, customs, health and quarantine, and it produces a single QR code. The window is 72 hours.
New Zealand’s NZTD covers your trip details and what you are bringing in, which matters more in New Zealand than most places because the biosecurity rules are strict and enforced. It is free, it can be done in the app or on the web, and everyone needs one including New Zealand passport holders.
Japan’s Visit Japan Web combines immigration clearance and customs into a single 2D code. Since January 2024 it has been one unified code rather than two separate ones.
For New Zealand, a stopover can change the opening time
For air travel, the normal submission window opens 24 hours before the journey to New Zealand starts. If you stay overnight in Singapore or leave the airport with your bags, NZTD uses the flight from that stopover to New Zealand. If you and your bags remain airside on a continuous connection, its guidance uses the first flight of that journey. Enter the actual journey rather than copying the first departure date from an itinerary with a stopover.
Keep the emailed NZTD reference number so you can review or amend the declaration. Resubmit after changing details. There is no QR code to present; the declaration is linked to the passport you use to enter New Zealand. If you cannot complete the digital route, the official guidance provides a paper form on arrival.
Two things that are not arrival cards, and get confused with them
The Bali tourist levy. Foreign tourists entering Bali pay IDR 150,000 per person. Smartraveller is explicit that this “is separate from the e-Visa on Arrival (e-VOA) or the Visa on Arrival (VOA)”, and it is separate from the arrival card too. Three different things, three different payments or forms.
Indonesia’s e-VOA. If you are applying online for the visa on arrival, Smartraveller says to do it “at least 48 hours before your travel to Indonesia”. That is a different window from the arrival card, which opens three days before arrival. If you use the combined All Indonesia flow, complete the arrival card first and then the e-VOA.
New Zealand’s NZeTA is not needed by Australian citizens. Australian permanent residents do need one. The declaration is separate again, and everybody needs that.
Do you need mobile data for any of this?
No, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise on a page published by an eSIM retailer.
Use home Wi-Fi when the relevant window opens. If the window opens while you are already travelling, use a steady trusted connection and complete it before the required border step. Nothing here requires a travel eSIM, and buying one will not make any of it faster.
There is one connectivity detail worth knowing, and it is small. Thailand, Indonesia and Japan give you a code to keep handy; New Zealand does not. Japan’s Digital Agency says that although you can register on a PC, “you will need to present your 2D code at the time of immigration procedures using your smartphone or tablet”. Thailand’s Immigration Bureau says to download its QR document or keep it in your email, and Indonesian Customs says the All Indonesia QR is shown to an officer or scanned at a terminal.
So take a screenshot before you fly. Not because you will not have data, but because a screenshot works when the site is slow, the wifi is bad, or you are ninth in a queue and the page decides to reload. It costs nothing and avoids having to reload the confirmation in the queue. A screenshot does not correct a wrong passport number or an unsubmitted form.
If you want data on arrival for other reasons, the maps and the ride and the hotel address, that is what our destination plans are for. We have separate buyer’s guides for Bali and Japan if either is your next trip. It is just not what these forms need.
When to do each one
A rough order of operations for a trip that needs several of these.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Weeks out | Confirm the visa route for your passport and trip. Indonesia’s official eVisa site offers a separate application; if you choose the combined All Indonesia route, complete the arrival card when its window opens, then the e-VOA, allowing at least 48 hours before travel. |
| 1 week out | Nothing to do on the arrival cards. Most windows are not open yet. |
| 3 days out | Thailand TDAC. Indonesia All Indonesia card. |
| 24 hours out | New Zealand Traveller Declaration opens. |
| Any time | Japan’s Visit Japan Web, if you are using it. |
| Before you leave home | Screenshot every QR or 2D code you have been given. |
Questions people actually ask
Do I have to pay for a digital arrival card?
No. Thailand’s, Indonesia’s, New Zealand’s and Japan’s are all free. Smartraveller specifically warns about “fake websites charging you a fee for the TDAC”.
Is Visit Japan Web mandatory?
No. Japan Customs says it “recommends submitting declarations electronically via the ‘Visit Japan Web'”, and that “The existing paper version of the Customs Declaration Form can still be used”. Visit Japan Web is the electronic route, not the only route.
How early can I submit a TDAC?
Within three days of arriving in Thailand. Earlier than that and the system will not take it.
What is the window for the Indonesian arrival card?
Within 72 hours of your travel to Indonesia.
When can I submit the New Zealand declaration?
The earliest is 24 hours before you start your trip to New Zealand, and it must be done before passport control.
Do New Zealanders need the New Zealand declaration?
Yes. Everyone travelling into New Zealand completes one, including New Zealand passport holders.
Do I need a travel eSIM to complete an arrival card?
No. Do them at home on wifi. The only thing worth doing with your phone is screenshotting the code before you fly.
What happens if I forget?
Thailand provides kiosks and wifi at arrival points, New Zealand says a paper declaration is available on arrival if needed, and Indonesia may require you to complete the process before its checks. All are slower and more stressful than doing the right form when its window opens. Japan still accepts its paper customs declaration.
Is the Bali tourist levy the same thing as the arrival card?
No. Three separate items: the arrival card, the visa or e-VOA, and the IDR 150,000 levy.
Sources
Thailand TDAC requirement, the three-day window, the statement that it is free of charge, and the fake-website warning from Smartraveller’s Thailand advice, with the transit exemption, required information, kiosks and QR handling checked against the Thai Immigration Bureau’s TDAC FAQ, checked 30 October 2026. Indonesia’s All Indonesia Arrival Card requirement and 72-hour window, the e-VOA 48-hour guidance, and the IDR 150,000 Bali tourist levy from Smartraveller’s Indonesia advice, with the combined declarations, three-day window and QR handling checked against the Indonesian Government’s All Indonesia announcement and Indonesian Customs guidance, checked 30 October 2026. New Zealand Traveller Declaration requirement from Smartraveller’s New Zealand advice and the 24-hour submission window, free service, passport-linked check, paper fallback and airside-transit exemption from the New Zealand Traveller Declaration site, both checked 30 October 2026. Visit Japan Web scope and presentation requirements from Japan’s Digital Agency, and the unified 2D code, electronic recommendation, free service and paper customs alternative from Japan Customs and its fake-site warning, checked 30 October 2026. Government requirements change without notice; check the official page for your destination before you travel.
Prepared by The SIM Shop for Australian travellers.
