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What to do if…
a required electronic travel authorisation is missing or still pending shortly before departure

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Check the application through the destination country’s official website using the passport and application details originally submitted. If it is still pending or cannot be found, contact the operating airline or ticket agent now to ask what it will require at check-in and what change options are available before you are recorded as a no-show.

Do not do these things

  • Do not treat a payment receipt or application confirmation as proof of approval.
  • Do not assume an authorization is unnecessary because you are only transiting through a country.
  • Do not submit another application unless the official instructions say that you should.
  • Do not pay an unofficial website that promises guaranteed or instant approval.
  • Do not change passport details or application answers to try to obtain approval.
  • Do not expect airline or airport staff to decide the immigration application.
  • Do not simply miss the flight without first contacting the airline or ticket agent.

What to do now

  1. Confirm the exact requirement for your passport nationality, destination, travel purpose, and every transit point. Use the destination government’s official immigration website, its embassy in the United States, or the destination information provided by the U.S. Department of State.

  2. Open the authorization authority’s official application-status service. Enter the same passport number, nationality, date of birth, and application reference used for the application.

  3. Check the email account used to apply, including spam and junk folders. Look for an approval, a request for more information, a payment problem, or instructions to correct the application.

  4. Compare the application details with the physical passport you will use. Check the name, passport number, issuing country, date of birth, and passport expiration date. Follow the authority’s official correction or reapplication instructions if anything is wrong or the passport has changed.

  5. Contact the airline operating the flight into or through the country requiring the authorization. Ask what document it must see at check-in, whether online check-in being blocked is related to the authorization, and whether the booking can be moved before departure.

  6. If a travel agency or booking website issued the ticket, contact it as well. Ask about the applicable change, cancellation, credit, fare-difference, and no-show terms.

  7. Save the application reference, status page, payment receipt, and official emails. These may help with support enquiries, but they do not replace an approval when approval is required.

  8. For urgent essential travel, use the authorization authority’s official support route or contact the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the United States. Ask whether anything is missing from the application and whether any official urgent process is available.

  9. Recheck the official status shortly before leaving for the airport. If approval arrives, confirm that it is linked to the passport you will carry and keep the confirmation accessible during check-in.

  10. If approval has not arrived by the time the airline says it must verify your documents, use the change or cancellation option available under your ticket rather than allowing the booking to become a no-show without contact.

What can wait

You do not need to reorganize the entire trip, cancel every reservation, start an insurance claim, or make a complaint now. First confirm the official status and protect the flight booking.

Important reassurance

A pending status is not necessarily a refusal. The useful steps now are to check for errors or requests, contact the carrier, and preserve the travel options still available.

Scope note

This guide covers immediate steps shortly before departure. Later decisions about replacement travel, insurance claims, disputed charges, or a new immigration application may require help from the relevant authority, airline, ticket agent, insurer, or another specialist.

Important note

This is general travel information, not legal or immigration advice. Requirements vary by nationality, passport, destination, transit route, and travel purpose. The destination authority decides the application, while the operating carrier applies its document checks before boarding.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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