Originally Posted by
FlyingUnderTheRadar
The definition of "visa" is becoming blurred. The US and the EU may not call their schemes "visas" but they function like a visa, and they require you to answer a lot more questions than the majority of travellers would be asked today just turning up at immigration.
For example you need to enter your address and employment details, but many Americans entering Schengen today would not be asked for this.
Australia has the ETA (charged) for Americans and Canadians, and eVisitor (free) for EU citizens, and it definitely calls these "visas". Even though the application process is simpler than for the US ESTA. I wonder if ETIAS will be chargeable for Australian citizens, which may result in the eVisitor also becoming chargeable for EU ciitzens.
Yes of course being required to get a full visa is much more invasive and costly than these electronic authorizations - but this doesn't stop them being visas in all but name. Some African / Middle Eastern countries have "visa on arrival" which are far simpler than these electronic authorizations, as all you need to do is pay the money, yet they are called "visas".