ETIAS: Travel to Europe Goes from Free to Fee

ETIAS is coming. And that means travel to Europe will soon turn a tad more complicated as a new visa-waiver program launches through the European Union. ETIAS, a convenient acronym for European Travel Information and Authorization System, is set to launch this year and will require Americans, among many other nationalities, to first apply, pay and then receive documented approval to cross into Schengen countries. No more wham-bam access to Spain or France or Denmark at the airport or border crossing. The good news? The rollout that was set for May 2023 has been pushed to November 2023. 

The new layer of travel planning marks a way for the countries in the Schengen region of the European Union to tighten security while collecting helpful revenues. The Schengen area, with some 27 countries, has been described as the world’s largest visa-free zone. The United Kingdom, no longer a part of the E.U., does not currently participate in charging a visa waiver fee to Americans and, in turn, its citizens must also apply for ETIAS clearance. Other countries, not full members of the Schengen zone (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, among them), are still opting to participate in the program and collect the tax. To date, most Americans have not had trouble passing into any of these countries and have needed only a U.S. passport to do so. 

ETIAS: Charging Fees is Not Unusual

While the European Union is completing operations and testing toward its November launch, such visa-waiver, pay-to-enter programs are not unusual. The U.S. has been operating such a program for nationals from 40 different countries – mostly in Europe – since launching Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) in 2009. Those fees run $21. The EU plans to operate ETIAS with a $7 fee. 

ETIAS applications will be completely electronic and require filling out a form full of critical information on the official EU site’s ETIAS page – a process that should only take minutes and ought to see approvals and papers minutes later, once payments go through. However, various elements can make the process longer and harder: taking too long to fill out the application, changing information, offering false information, back-tracking and other moves that often bring sensitive, government run systems to a halt. 

Information needed will include:

– Personal information including place of birth, parents’ names, an email address and phone number

– Passport or travel document details

– ETIAS EU official site Education and occupation information

– Intended travel destinations and stay locations

– Any details about any criminal convictions, travels to war zones and expulsions from countries

Hacks and Cracks

Not surprisingly, at the nearing of this new requirement toward its originally-proposed May 2023 launch date, scammers took the lead in producing very professional official-looking websites to lure unsuspecting travelers to give up their sensitive information. To date, little has been done to publicize this problem or reign in the perpetrators. And those sites will be found at the top of the SERPs, weighted well above the official site of the EU. To that end, the European Union notes its official websites are always registered under the “europa.eu” domain. Other dangerously deceptive sites trying to attract unknowing tourists to apply for ETIAS clearance will show URLs ending in dot com or dot org.

As November 2023 looms closer, those travelers with plans to head to Europe will not need this document if they are under 18 years old or older than 70. Once acquired, the approval status lasts for three years and allows an individual to enter the region for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, without a full visa.

Which countries require clearance?

• • Austria

    Belgium

    Bulgaria

    Croatia

    Cyprus

    Czech Republic

    Denmark

    Estonia

    Finland

    France

    Germany

    Greece

    Hungary

    Iceland

    Italy

    Latvia

    Liechtenstein

    Lithuania

    Luxembourg

    Malta

    Netherlands

    Norway

    Poland

    Portugal

    Romania

    Slovakia

    Slovenia

    Spain

    Sweden

    Switzerland

At press time the application function of the official ETIAS website is not operating and not allowing travelers to apply. However, a full nine months ahead of the required document date, there is no rush and the fee can go for a sconce and coffee instead.