ETIAS (short for “European Travel Information and Authorisation System”) is an electronic travel authorization made for EU and Schengen Area visitors from visa-exempt third countries. The new system will be implemented in 2025.

ETIAS can be used to visit the EU or Schengen countries for tourism, short business trips, medical travel, and transits for up to 90 days. However, ETIAS is not a visa but a visa waiver scheme, just like ESTA in the USA.

The main difference between ETIAS and a visa is the fully digitized and automated process which makes ETIAS much easier, faster, and cheaper to get than a classic visa from the consulates and embassies of the individual EU and Schengen countries.

With ETIAS, you don’t need to visit an embassy or submit your biometric data. All you have to do is complete a ten-minute online application before you travel, pay a € 7 fee, and wait for your authorization.

More than 30 countries are planning to participate in the ETIAS program. These include:

* ETIAS is required to transit through the Schengen countries needed to get to these microstates.

Travelers from around 60 non-EU and non-Schengen countries will have to apply for ETIAS to travel to EU or Schengen countries from 2025 on:

ETIAS travel authorization is available for the listed visa-exempt third-country nationals as well as people who:

• are family members of European Union citizens or of third-country nationals who enjoy a right to free movement equivalent to that of Union citizens
• are pupils with a nationality of a third country if they participate in a trip of certain travel groups
• have refugee status or are stateless (under certain conditions)
• are members of armed forces that travel within the framework of NATO or the Partnership for Peace and hold certain identity documents and deployment orders

ETIAS enables travelers to visit one or more EU and/or Schengen countries for up to 90 days in a row for tourism, business trips, medical treatments, or transit. Within the 3-year validity of your ETIAS, you can enter the EU or Schengen Area as often as you like but only stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

Attention: You may not work or study in Europe with ETIAS. This would require a special visa from the respective country.

You can only enter the EU or Schengen Area and move freely between states without a visa or ETIAS if you:

• are a citizen of the EU or participating Schengen states
• are a citizen of the European microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City
• hold a valid residence permit
• can present a valid local border traffic permit

Furthermore, if you currently hold a Schengen visa, you do not need to apply for ETIAS. As soon as your visa has expired, you may request your ETIAS authorization.

To get ETIAS approval to travel to the EU or Schengen countries, applicants must fulfill the following ETIAS requirements:

• They must be nationals from one of the visa-waiver countries.
• They must have a passport that is valid for at least three months after their leaving date.
• They must have a debit or credit card.
• They must plan to enter the EU or Schengen Area for touristic purposes, short business trips, medical travel, or transit for up to 90 days.

After the introduction of ETIAS as the European e-visa, entry into the EU and Schengen Area will cost € 7 for all previously visa-exempt travelers. Travelers under 18 or over 70 years will not have to pay the ETIAS fee but still get their travel authorization for free.

Because your ETIAS authorization will be linked to your passport data, you must carry both while traveling the EU and the Schengen states from 2025 on.

Upon arrival at the EU or Schengen outside borders, you will hand your travel documents to customs and border guards. Your passport will be electronically scanned and checked. Furthermore, border officials can ask some questions before you may cross the border.

ETIAS is designed to identify potential threats associated with travelers before entering the EU or Schengen Area by subjecting applicants to a security check. Before ETIAS starts, travelers from 60 non-EU countries can still enter un-checked without a visa.

Thus, ETIAS is supposed to make life in the EU and the Schengen Area safer. The pre-travel check for third-country nationals coming to the European Union and the Schengen states combats identity fraud, misuse of travel documents, terrorism, and serious crime and reduces illegal migration.

When traveling with ETIAS, you will give personal data to the authorities for security reasons. The following information will be stored in the ETIAS system:

• Your name(s)
• Your date and place of birth
• Your gender
• Your nationality
• Your parent’s names
• Your passport details
• Your contact information (email address, postal address, telephone number)
• Your occupation and school education
• The date and time of your application
• A payment reference number

The following things will be checked upon your application and ETIAS approval:

• Information on criminal convictions
• Stays in war or conflict zones
• The IP address from which the ETIAS application was submitted

ETIAS applicants will have the right to request access to the personal data stored, as well as for rectification, erasure, or completion of the personal data (Art. 55, Art. 64 ETIAS Regulation).

ETIAS will cross-check your data against several European databases, namely:

• The Schengen Information System (SIS)
• The Visa Information System (VIS)
• Europol data
• The Entry/Exit System (EES)
• The Eurodac database
• The Interpol Stolen and Lost Travel Document database (SLTD)
• The Interpol Travel Documents Associated with Notices database (TDAWN)
• A dedicated ETIAS watchlist and specific risk indicators

Should there be any concerns regarding your application, it will be processed manually.

The EU will soon provide a web service and mobile app for applicants to complete their ETIAS application forms. The services will be available in all official languages of the EU states.

You will go through the following steps when requesting your ETIAS:

• Register with your email address
• Enter your passport details
• Enter your personal information
• Answer all security questions truthfully
• Pay the application fee of € 7
• Submit your data and wait for approval

The data you provide will be checked in an automated process. After a short waiting period, you will receive the ETIAS travel authorization to print out and store with your passport.

Completing the online application should take no more than 10 minutes. After submitting, the automatic approval is supposed to be issued within a few minutes or, as a maximum, up to 96 hours.

In rare cases, your application needs to be handled manually by the newly installed ETIAS Central Unit managed by Frontex and the ETIAS National Units. Should this be the case, the wait time for your ETIAS approval could be up to a month, and you might be contacted with further questions.

An ETIAS approval can be used for an unlimited number of entries over three years. However, you may not stay more than 90 days within 180 days.

Anyone whose ETIAS application is denied will have the right to appeal. In your refusal email message, you will find the reasons for your ETIAS denial and possible next steps.

You will need to consider if you want to re-apply (in the case of small mistakes), file an official appeal (in the case of unfounded reasons for denial that are based on you as a person), or get a visa instead (in the event of actual ineligibility).