ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Trinidad and Tobago

The 1.4 million Caribbeans who reside in Trinidad and Tobago will have to access short-term travel to the EU in different ways as their nation has joined the EU’s new ETIAS scheme. Discover below how these travel rights will be changed by the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, and find out more information as required at ETIAS.org.

A valid ETIAS visa waiver will be required as of January 1st, 2023 after the scheme was delayed two years by COVID. ETIAS applications will open in late 2022, and Trinidadian and Tobagans may apply for them for any travel within three years.

The main restriction for ETIAS visa holders is the amount of time they are permitted to remain in the Schengen area. They can only stay for 90 days, and all their travel within the Schengen area must be thoroughly detailed in their application.

Unusually, no ETIAS visa will be required if the Trinidadian and Tobagan enters the Schengen area by train. However, they will still be limited to short-term travel and must arrange legal transit into the European nation they plan on getting the train from.

Although Trinidad and Tobago have been defined as safe enough for a visa waiver scheme, citizens must still prove they are safe travellers. The EU is concerned that individuals of any nation can participate in criminal activity, human trafficking, or could carry infectious diseases. Furthermore, they want to ensure that any Trinidad and Toboggan who comes has the official right to travel.

All of these requirements are tested by the ETIAS administration through the ETIAS application. Trinidad and Tobagans can gain their application form from the official ETIAS website or be guided to it by the consulate or embassy of whatever Schengen nation they wish to visit.

Once they have received their application form, they will see it is made up of two parts: questions and documentation.

The questions section is the more stringent of the two, going further than determining if the traveller has the legal right to travel. They tackle the subjective matter of whether the Trinidadian and Tobagan poses a risk to EU citizens. The application form will ask if they have terrorist or human trafficking affiliations. More tangibly, it will ask if the citizen of Trinidad and Tobago has any criminal convictions in the last 15 years or criminal convictions in the previous 25 years. Finally, it will locate the Trinidadian and Toboggan regarding their risk to public health by asking if they carry infectious diseases.

The documentation required is much simpler, and all Trinidadian and Tobagans should have access to it. ETIAS requires a copy of a valid biometric passport and proof of address. Three months of bank statements confirming this address should be suitable.

Outside of documentation or information, just a digital photograph is required that will be displayed on the ETIAS document. Trinidadian and Tobagans must ensure this photograph is different from that which appears on their passport, but it should be taken in the style of a passport photograph.

At times, the needs on the ETIAS application form are insufficient to prove that a Trinidadian and Tobagan fits the ETIAS requirements. If this is the case, the administration will request further documentation or information that proves the individual fits the ETIAS requirements.

Minor issues can be dealt with without the application being fully rejected. Instead, the application will remain open for ten days, allowing the Trinidadian and Toboggan to make any clarifications.

However, major issues will not be acceptable for the ETIAS administration, which will lead to the 5% of applications that have these issues being rejected. Luckily, the EU plans to accompany all rejections with details on the further documentation or information needed to reconcile the causes of rejection. Turning a rejection to an acceptance of these major issues will be difficult but not impossible if the Trinidadian and Tobagan correctly completes their appeal.

With an ETIAS visa waiver, Trinidadian and Tobagans may visit the Schengen agreement countries for a period of up to or fewer than 90 days.

After they have received an acceptance, the Trinidadian and Tobagan may make their short-term travel to the Schengen agreement area within three years. The exact expiry date can be found within the ETIAS document. Trinidad and Tobagans ETIAS visa waivers will only be valid if all of their short-term travel falls within this three-year period.