Do I need an ETIAS if I Have Schengen Visa?

Citizens of the 62 countries who do not currently require a visa to visit Europe will be required to obtain an ETIAS from 2022, while citizens of countries who require a visa will still need to have a visa to visit the countries in the Schengen Zone.

The ETIAS has been introduced to provide an easy and fast online application for travellers to enter the Schengen Zone while being able to better monitor visitors coming into the border for any possible security risks.

If a traveller already has a Schengen Visa, they would not require an ETIAS, as the visa provides their travel authorization. You would require an ETIAS or a Visa and not both.

Usually, a Schengen Visa would only be required if the person does not qualify for an ETIAS, which could be due to the country that they are a citizen of not being visa-exempt, or because the purpose or length of their visit to the Schengen Zone does not apply under the ETIAS requirements.

The ETIAS is available for travellers from visa-exempt countries, who are visiting a country, or countries in the Schengen Zone for business, tourism or transit purposes. If the traveller wants to live, work or study in the Schengen Zone, they would need to submit the relevant type of visa application to obtain the adequate travel authorization.

There are a number of differences between the ETIAS and the Schengen Visa, for example, the ETIAS is issued for three years, while a Schengen Visa will be classified as single-entry, double-entry or multiple-entry as determined by the type of visa you obtain. During the three years of a valid ETIAS, you are able to visit the Schengen Zone as many times as you want to, provided that you do not overstay the 90-day limit within 180 days.

Another key difference is that the ETIAS is completely digitalized and involves an electronic update to your passport that shows travel authorization, whereas the Schengen Visa will be manually added onto your passport. The application for ETIAS is all completed online, by completing a short form, while the application for a Schengen Visa is much longer.

Applying for a Schengen Visa requires a longer amount of paperwork and the applicant must also attend an interview with the Embassy and supply any relevant documents that apply for their visa type. The Schengen Visa also costs more to apply for than applying for an ETIAS, so anyone who is eligible to apply for the ETIAS would benefit from all of these advantages rather than applying for the more expensive and more time-consuming visa.

With the ETIAS, you are able to visit numerous countries with the Schengen Zone but with a Schengen Visa, it will be issued for a specific country and therefore if you want to travel to more than one Schengen country, you would need to apply for a visa for each of the countries you want to visit.