ETIAS to Launch November 2023

The plan to introduce the ETIAS ‘e-visa’ as a mandatory requirement in May 2023 has now been postponed by the EU until November 2023. This is another delay in rolling out the European visa waivers and it means that travellers from Britain, the US and other listed visa-waiver countries will not require an ETIAS for travelling to Europe in summer 2023.

The ETIAS is due to be introduced to improve security by pre-screening non-EU citizens before they are allowed to enter any country in the Schengen Area. The process involves being fingerprinted, completing an online application form and paying an application fee to be issued with an ETIAS.

Around 1.4 billion travellers from over 60 world countries will be required to obtain an ETIAS from November 2023, instead of enjoying visa-free travel in the EU.

Upon entry of an EU country, non-EU citizens will be required to have a valid ETIAS that is linked electronically to their passport. Previously, British, US and Australian citizens would not have required any additional travel authorisation other than their passport.

Citizens from countries that are not in the visa-waiver list for ETIAS are still required to apply for a visa, the introduction of ETIAS does not affect this.

There has been no official statement from the EU regarding the postponement, but the operational date has been updated on the EU Commission website page for ETIAS under the Migration and Home Affairs section. As yet, there has been no information released regarding why the ETIAS system has been delayed again.