Tourists from the UK will now have to apply to enter EU countries and pay a fee prior to their arrival to their intended destination. The rules come under new plans to introduce a visa waiver security check scheme.
With the UK having left the EU due to Brexit, tourists planning to visit the Schengen zone - which includes most EU nations in mainland Europe - will have to apply to the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) before they depart.
ETIAS is set to launch next year having been first proposed back in 2016. This was before the UK had voted to leave the EU and was later confirmed in 2018.
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With the scheme set to launch in 2023, applicants will be changed a fee of around £6 and will apply to applicants aged between 18 and 70. According to Chronical Live, UK passport holders will not need a visa to visit EU Schengen zone countries as tourists however they may be turned away at the border if their ETIAS application is not approved. In effect, it is similar to the ESTA visa waiver scheme Brits use to travel to the USA.
The EU's ETIAS website states: "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. Non-EU nationals who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area will have to apply for a travel authorisation through the ETIAS system prior to their trip."
So what is this all about and what else should you know?
When will ETIAS come into force?
ETIAS is expected to be in operation by May 2023 however an EU spokesperson told Chronicle Live it could come in earlier adding: "According to current planning, this will apply as of the end of 2022," they said. There could be a grace period when the system is first implemented.
What is ETIAS and why will UK passport holders need to pay for a visa waiver to go to the EU?
ETIAS is a security check that non-EU nationals who don't need visas to visit the EU will have to complete before travelling to countries in the Schengen zone, countries applying to join Schengen, and four non-EU states that are in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and thus considered part of the Schengen zone. UK passport holders are among the nationals who will have to use the scheme to travel.
This means that UK passport holders who are not nationals or residents of an EU, Schengen or EFTA country will need to pay for and pass an ETIAS check in order to travel to the Schengen area of mainland Europe, and other countries like Iceland and Norway however one will not be required to visit the Republic of Ireland.
The EU 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. The ETIAS travel authorisation will be a mandatory pre-condition for entry to the Schengen area. It will be checked together with the travel documents by the border guards when crossing the EU border."
How will ETIAS work and how long will EU visa waiver application take?
Tourists from the UK travelling to the Schengen free travel area (which also includes the non-EU countries of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein along with 22 EU countries and four that are applying to join Schengen) will have to complete an application form online.
The EU says the form should take around 10 minutes to fill in and in order to apply, applicants will need a passport or equivalent document. It is said that around 95% of applicants can expect their ETIAS to be approved within a few minutes however if your application is flagged as a potential risk, you could face a wait of up to 96 hours before a decision is made and in "exceptional circumstances", this could increase to a maximum of four weeks.
Which countries will UK passport holders need an ETIAS visa waiver for?
British tourists will require an ETIAS visa waiver to visit every country in the Schengen area, including four non-EU countries and four countries applying to join the Schengen area, etiasvisa.com says.
They are:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Romania
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
UK passport holders will not be required to complete an ETIAS form to visit the Republic of Ireland.
Why could an ETIAS visa waiver be refused and what happens?
There are a few reasons why an application could be refused and if this happens, you have a right to appeal. If you try and travel without having applied for one or with one that isn't approved, you will likely be turned away at the border.
Potential reasons for an ETIAS application being refused could include a criminal record, posing a security threat, health concerns or a history of overstaying in the Schengen zone. A criminal record won't automatically mean an application fails, but it can lead to the applicant being considered a risk.
What happens at the EU border?
Your ETIAS application will be linked to your passport and border guards will be able to tell if your application has been approved or not.
The EU says: "Upon arrival at a Schengen area border crossing point, the border guard will electronically read the travel document data, thereby triggering a query to different databases, including a query to ETIAS in the case of visa-exempt travellers. If there is no valid ETIAS travel authorisation, the border guards will refuse entry and record the traveller and the refusal of entry in the Entry Exit System.
"If there is a valid travel authorisation, the border control process will be conducted and the traveller may be authorised to enter the Schengen area."
Do I have to apply for an ETIAS visa waiver every time I enter the EU or Schengen zone?
No, a successful ETIAS application will be valid for a period of three years. But it can be rescinded.
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