ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Montenegro

The 620,000 citizens of Montenegro will join the 1.4 billion members of the international community who are citizens of the 60 Nations that have joined the ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System.). When it comes into effect in 2023, the new European Visa waiver will alter the process for Montenegrins who want to visit the Schengen area.

A planned launch date of 2023 has been announced, and the EU is progressing well to having the system in place in time. As of August 3rd, The Artificial Intelligence technology that will make this new Visa waiver possible was implemented. Furthermore, international carriers are now able to register for ETIAS. Challenges have come, though, with staffing issues putting the January 2023 launch in jeopardy.

This new Visa waiver marks the EU formerly restricting tourists' travel into the Schengen area. Learn how it would change the way that Montenegrins travel to the Schengen area below.

The modern world has become too dangerous for tourists to be able to travel to Europe without documentation. ETIAS is a middle ground between implementing a full tourist visa and allowing unvetted travel.

The USA first implemented the Visa waiver system in 1986, but the system struggled when more accessible travel overburdened it. The EU faces a similar problem with millions of outside travellers coming every year. Using artificial intelligence technology can help immigration enforcement officers flag any threatening travellers, allowing them to manage a higher workload.

The EU is now able to make this change, but why are they doing so? Terrorism poses an ever-increasing risk and it is hoped that the ETIAS visa waiver will prevent attacks in the future.

Montenegrins will experience few barriers when they need to submit the ETIAS application. If they must appeal a rejection to their application, they will have to wait longer than one business day for a reply. These Montenegrins can expect delays of up to four weeks.

The main complication that Montenegrins will experience because of the ETIAS visa waiver Will be at the border. The Visa waiver will require biometric checks of all travelers which could extend expected waiting times by hours.

The visa gives Montenegrins the right to visit all the countries in the ETIAS program listed below.

There is some pressing information that the EU requires of Montenegrins when they apply for ETIAS. Namely, their previous travel to Europe, past trips to conflict zones, past serious terrorist, criminal, and human trafficking convictions, travel itinerary, and infectious diseases.

Aside from this critical information, Montenegrins need only provide basic personal information and standard documentation to back it up. This includes a passport and proof of address.

The vast majority of Montenegrins will easily access an ETIAS Visa waiver. However, roughly 5% of Montenegrins will have a rejection when they apply for ETIAS. This will be because the EU determines they are a risk to EU citizens, for one of the reasons described below.

The covid-19 pandemic has added to the responsibility that Border Force has to protect public health. Travellers with infectious diseases will struggle to cross borders because of the need to prevent the next global pandemic. The ETIAS visa will ask for a detailed background a Montenegrins infectious diseases to ensure they do not pose a public health risk.

The other grounds for the EU to decide a Montenegrin is a risk is more obvious. That is concerns that a Montenegro may commit acts of terror or serious criminal acts while in the Schengen area.If a Montenegrin has received a terrorist conviction in the last 25 years, or a serious criminal conviction in the last 15 years, then the AI system will flag them. They are unlikely to have a successful application with this discrepancy.

In most circumstances, a Montenegrin making short-term travel to the Schengen area of less than 90 days will require an ETIAS visa waiver. However, one of the more unusual aspects of the ETIAS visa is that Montenegrins arriving by train will not need one.