On 14 September 2024, the European Union launched its website for ETIAS, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. The scheme will start being applied from May 2025.
The United States of America have the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), Canada has the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), the United Kingdom spells Authorisation with an S and Australia calls the scheme eVisitor. More and more countries have this online ‘sub-visa’ travel registration authorisation system.
Spain also wants your information and Germany reintroduced border checks.
The EU is following suit with ETIAS.
What is ETIAS?
The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is a planned electronic authorization system for visa-exempt visitors traveling to the Schengen Area and Cyprus. It is expected to cost €7 for a three-year validity period or until passport expiration. The ETIAS is scheduled to become operational in May 2025 with a six-month transition period.
The European Commission intends the ETIAS to identify security, irregular migration, or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors. It is not a visa and does not guarantee entry. To complement the ETIAS, the Entry/Exit System will be implemented on 10 November 2024, replacing physical passport stamps with electronic border crossing registration.
The ETIAS was first proposed by the European Commission in 2016 and was formally established in September 2018. Due to challenges in integrating national systems into a central database, the implementation date has been repeatedly delayed from January 2021.
What is the Entry/Exit System?
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a planned EU system for automatically monitoring and recording border crossings of non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens in the Schengen Area. Operated by eu-LISA, it will be implemented on 10 November, replacing passport stamps with electronic border crossing registration.
The EES will store traveler information, including name, date of birth, fingerprints, biometrics for facial recognition, and border crossing locations and times, in the ETIAS database.
What is eu-LISA?
The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) is an EU agency established in 2011 to ensure the uninterrupted operation of large-scale IT systems within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ), supporting EU asylum, border management, and migration policies. It began operating in December 2012.
The agency’s current establishing regulation, which entered into force in December 2018, repealed the previous regulation and expanded its mandate. The new mandate strengthens eu-LISA’s capacity to improve, design, and develop information systems for European security, border management, and migration, and broadens its scope of work on research, innovation, testing, and pilot projects.
eu-LISA’s headquarters are located in Tallinn in Estonia, while its operational center is in Strasbourg in France. Additionally, eu-LISA has a technical backup site in Sankt Johann im Pongau in Austria, and a liaison office in Brussels in Belgium. The current interim executive director is Luca Zampaglione, who assumed the role in July 2024.
30 countries
“ETIAS travel authorisation is an entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals travelling to any of these 30 European countries. It is linked to a traveller’s passport. It is valid for up to three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you get a new passport, you need to get a new ETIAS travel authorisation”, the official website says.
These thirty countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Who needs an ETIAS travel authorisation?
Nationals of any of these visa-exempt countries/territories need to apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation.
These countries are, as of the end of September 2024: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macao / Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Serbia, the Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, Hong Kong, Macau / Macao and Taiwan must check this page and check if their type of passport is accepted for ETIAS.
No guaranteed entry!
“With a valid ETIAS travel authorisation, you can enter the territory of these European countries as often as you want for short-term stays – normally for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. However, it does not guarantee entry. When you arrive, a border guard will ask to see your passport and other documents and verify that you meet the entry conditions”, the website says.
Applying for an ETIAS travel authorisation
“You can fill out the application form using either this official ETIAS website or the ETIAS mobile application. Applying for the ETIAS travel authorisation costs 7 euros, though some travellers are exempt from paying this fee.”
Processing your ETIAS application
Most applications are processed within minutes. “It is possible however that your application may take longer to process. If so, you will receive a decision within four days. Please note that this period could be extended by up to 14 days if you are requested to provide additional information or documentation, or up to 30 days if you are invited to an interview. This is why you should apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation well in advance of your planned journey.”
Once you have applied
You will receive an email confirming the submission of your application which will include your unique ETIAS application number: make sure you keep this number for future reference. Once your application has been processed, you will receive another email informing you about its outcome.
“When you get your ETIAS travel authorisation please make sure your name, passport number and other information is correct: if there is any mistake, you will not be allowed to cross the border. More information about what to do if you made a mistake in your application can be found here. If your application is refused, the email will provide the reasons for this decision. It will also include information about how to appeal, details of the competent authority, as well as the relevant time limit to appeal.”
Validity period of your ETIAS
Your ETIAS travel authorisation is valid for three years or until the travel document you used in your application expires – whichever comes first.
It is for short-term stays: a valid ETIAS travel authorisation entitles you to stay in the European countries requiring ETIAS for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
You must be in possession of a valid ETIAS travel authorisation during your entire stay. You can leave and come back at any time, as long as you respect this time limit.
On arrival at the border
“As your ETIAS travel authorisation is linked to your travel document, make sure to carry the same document which you used in your ETIAS application. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to board your flight, bus or ship, or to enter any of the European countries requiring ETIAS.”
“Having a valid ETIAS travel authorisation does not guarantee an automatic right of entry. When you arrive at the border, border guards will verify that you meet the entry conditions. Those travellers who do not meet the entry conditions will be refused entry.”
Trip By Trip 
Good post its about time if other have done it for years!!
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Thank you!
Yes, other countries do it. So why not Schengen?
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Its coming too. check out EES (système d’entrée-sortie ou Entry Exit System) Cheers
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Thank you for the tip 🙂
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You are welcome
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