ETIAS Visa Waiver for Travelers from Uruguay

Uruguay joins many of its South American counterparts, including its neighbor Brazil, in joining the 62 nations set for the ETIAS visa waiver system. Originally established in 2016, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System will change the way that Uruguayans travel, visit, and work in Europe for short-term periods.

Read this article to learn more about the changes the ETIAS visa waiver will make to Uruguayans’ right to travel in Europe, and head over to ETIAS.org to keep up with the latest ETIAS news as it happens.

The ETIAS system will only come into effect at the end of 2022. Until then, Uruguayans may travel to the EU normally. Once the ETIAS system comes into effect, all Uruguayans travelling to the Schengen area for short-term stays will require an ETIAS visa waiver. In this case, short-term means any kind of stay that is less than 90 days, whether that is for business, pleasure, or medical reasons.

The ETIAS visa waiver grants access to ETIAS Schengen states only. If a Uruguayan wants to extend their travel beyond the Schengen Zone, they will have to make arrangements with the other nations individually. The nations that are covered by the ETIAS system are listed below.

The EU plans to be strict with who they award an ETIAS visa too. They do not want to take any risks by inviting those who might do harm to European citizens into the Schengen Zone. Uruguayans must match all of these needs to be awarded an ETIAS visa waiver.

The ETIAS requirements that all Uruguayans must match are that they are…

A firm application process has been designed by ETIAS administrators to ensure that Uruguayans fit the ETIAS requirements. They have supplemented this by making necessary connections to Interpol databases. This will allow all Uruguayans data to be cross-referenced, unearthing mistruths easily. Because of this process, it is vital that Uruguayans tell the truth at all stages of their application, despite the fact that giving away any suspicious information will likely lead to their application being rejected.

Uruguayans’ potential terrorist connections are planned to be unearthed by asking them if they have affiliations with any terrorist groups. Furthermore, if a Uruguayan has had any terrorist convictions of any kind in the last 25 years, they will see their application rejected.

Similar measures are in place to ensure that the Uruguayan is not linked to human trafficking. The ETIAS application form will ask Uruguayans about their formal convictions and informal connections to human trafficking networks.

Assessing the likelihood of a Uruguayan to commit criminal acts while in the Schengen Zone is a simpler process, relying on checks if they have had any criminal convictions within 15 years of making their application.

The final measure to ensure the Uruguayan is safe to travel is checks that they do not carry any infectious diseases. The EU is doing everything it can to ensure that the next global pandemic does not wreak havoc in the Schengen Zone.

Finally, the EU will check that a Uruguayan has the right to travel with simple pieces of documentation. They will ask the Uruguayan for three months' proof of address, such as utility bills and a copy of their biometric passport.

For the vast majority of Uruguayan ETIAS applicants, fulfilling these requirements will be sufficient. However, some Uruguayans are bound to make errors when they complete their application, and the EU will require them to solve the problem within ten days. Uruguayans should not be disheartened if this is the case for their application, as it does not make them more likely to have an application rejected.

Some Uruguayans will be disappointed because they fall within the 5% of rejected applications. When receiving their rejection, Uruguayans will be informed as to how they can appeal, and they will have four working days to follow the appeals process. Once the appeal has been made and any requested video interviews have been attended, the Uruguayan can expect to wait four weeks for an answer.