Third Country Citizens Will Need a Visa to Travel to Europe from 2024
US, UK, Japanese, Australian and other travellers to Europe will need a visa-waiver to visit most EU countries from 2024, including Spain, France and Portugal.
The European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme (ETIAS) was due to be introduced in November 2023, but has been postponed to next year. When it launches, non-EU passport-holders will need a visa-waiver to visit any country in Europe’s single visa zone, the Schengen Area.
Travellers will need to apply online and pay a fee of €7 (around $8 or £6) before travelling. By comparison, Europeans have been required to get an ESTA before entering the US since 2009. ESTA is part of the US visa-waiver system and costs £21. The authorisation is expected to be valid for three years, or until the passport expires.
Similar to America’s ESTA system, ETIAS will allow citizens from 63 visa-exempt countries to visit the Schengen Area with an electronic authorisation rather than a full visa. This includes the UK, which is considered a third country since Brexit.
The ETIAS scheme was originally due to start in 2021, but the European authorities have so far postponed the scheme’s launch date four times – most recently to 2024.
There has been some confusion as to whether Brussels will require non-EU citizens to provide biometric data whenever they enter or leave the Schengen Zone. But in a statement from the European Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs published last month the situation was clarified: ‘When applying for an ETIAS, travellers will not be required to provide any information related to their health or vaccination status. Travellers will also not be requested to provide any biometric data, such as fingerprints.1’
The entry-exit system will replace passport-stamping and is initially expected to cause delays at busy airports and ports.
The exact launch dates of both the entry-exit system and ETIAS have yet to be confirmed. It’s expected that the EES (WHAT IS EES – NEEDS TO BE DEFINED)will also be introduced in 2024 and be implemented first.
The primary aim of ETIAS is to tighten border security by digitally screening and tracking travellers entering and leaving Schengen Area countries.
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