ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Mexico

The 128 million citizens of Mexico will make up a substantial proportion of the 1.4 billion people whose travel rights to the EU will now be affected by the ETIAS 2022 visa waiver. ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) will launch in 2023 to the 59 ETIAS nations whose citizens must then follow it.

The EU has made good progress in preparing the technology required to implement such an ambitious visa waiver program. They have reported the systems have been in place since August 3rd. Other aspects have been delayed though, such as human resources. The EU observer recently reported delays in securing the additional border patrol officers and administrative staff required to process a huge amount of travellers to a higher intensity.

Discover below the travel rights granted by the ETIAS visa waiver, and the application process.

Nations and alliances like the EU are always working to strengthen their borders, and short-term travel has always presented a challenge because there are so many short-term travellers. The European Commission reported that travellers stayed 299 million nights in Spanish tourist accommodation alone. Carrying out accurate background screening on all these people is near impossible.

Even though the task is hard, the EU can no longer ignore it, having been hit by a multitude of terrorist attacks in recent years. The Brussels Bombing of 2016 killed 35 people, and the EU now wants to do everything in its power to prevent these attacks from occurring. Accurate screening of all travellers is not only necessary, but it is now possible. AI technology will allow screening for ETIAS visa waiver system to occur rapidly and accurately enough to make it worthwhile.

ETIAS does not present a serious barrier to Mexicans who pose no threat to the EU and ensuring that they apply for ETIAS in time will be enough for them to travel to the EU. A 95% successful application rate has been found in similar visa waiver systems worldwide.

Complications will happen though, and Mexicans should leave plenty of time when they send off their application, which could take as much as 4 weeks to be dealt with.

Mexicans must expect that the ETIAS checks at the border will also complicate their plans. Predictions are out that biometric checks at the border will substantially lengthen queues, and Mexicans should factor that into their travel plans after their flight lands

The visa gives Mexicans the right to visit all of the ETIAS European countries listed below.

This list features all 26 official and defacto Schengen states. The ETIAS visa area shares borders with those of the Schengen agreement, and all European nations outside of this area have their own entrance policies in operation.

The ETIAS application form is easy for Mexicans to deal with, necessitating minimal documentation and the answering of some questions. The documentation required is scarcely more than they would have required before the ETIAS visa waiver, being a passport and a proof of address.

The ETIAS application form also necessitates the answering of simple questions surrounding the Mexican’s personal information, and queries about the potential threat they could pose to EU citizens and other travellers. They are:

A key purpose of ETIAS is to put up barriers for short-term travellers who pose a security and public health risk to EU citizens and other travellers. Part of this is reducing access to Mexicans with serious criminal and terrorist convictions. Mexicans with the former within 15 years and the latter within 25 years are unlikely to have their ETIAS application accepted.

The public health protecting purpose of the ETIAS visa waiver comes as nations work to protect their citizens from future pandemics. ETIAS questions on the infectious diseases Mexicans have will work to restrict their travel into the EU.

Rejections can become successful applications if a rejected Mexican can use the appeals process correctly. After requesting an appeal, a Mexican might be given the chance to supply further documentation or be given questions to answer. If what they provide within 96 hours clears up any discrepancies, then the Mexican will be granted an ETIAS visa waiver within four weeks.