A fresh date has been set for the launch of a new charge British holidaymakers will have to pay to enter EU countries. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System will mean anyone heading from the UK to one of the 26 Schengen States will have to apply and pay a fee of €7.
The ETIAS will be a "mandatory pre-condition for entry", the European Commission says. After filling in an online application form, the system will conduct checks against EU information systems for borders and security and, in the vast majority of cases, issue a travel authorisation within minutes.
In limited cases, where further checks on a traveller are needed, the issuing of the travel authorisation could take up to 30 days. It will be checked together with travel documents by guards when crossing the EU border, and will be valid for three years.
Previously, the ETIAS visa waiver scheme was expected to start in May 2023. However, it has now been pushed back until November 2023, Liverpool Echo reports.
The Guardian also reports that a "six-month transition period" will be followed by "a grace period of unknown length". During this time, "travellers crossing the EU border for the first time under the requirements will be given some leeway", according to the newspaper, which cited an EU source.
According to the European Commission, ETIAS will be "a largely automated IT system created to identify security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors travelling to the Schengen States, whilst at the same time facilitate crossing borders for the vast majority of travellers who do not pose such risks." It also says the verification process will "substantially reduce the number of refusals of entry at border crossing points."
The 26 countries of the Schengen area
- Austria
- Belgium
- The Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
