ETIAS Travel Authorisation

All About the ETIAS Visa Waiver

The ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is expected to go live in late 2022 and won’t be obligatory until 2023. Until then, here’s everything you need to know about this pass, including who’s eligible, how much it costs, and how to apply with Byevisa.

The ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is the European Union’s upcoming electronic visa waiver system. Until now, nationalities including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Japan were exempt from needing a visa to travel to Europe.

However, with the introduction of the ETIAS citizens of these countries and others are obliged to apply online for an electronic travel authorisation. The application process is simple: you enter some personal details and it takes roughly 10 minutes.

This applies if you wish to visit any of the 26 countries that make up the Schengen Zone (at present, 22 EU countries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, as well as 3 microstates, namely Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City).

The ETIAS travel pass is valid for up to 3 years. During your authorisation’s validity period, you can enter Europe multiple times for visits up to 90 days each within a 180-day period, for business, medical treatment, tourism or transit. Fortunately, this means that you won’t have to apply for this document each time you travel to the Schengen Zone during your authorisation’s validity period.

However, please note that if you intend to travel to Europe for another motive, such as to immigrate, work permanently or study in the EU, you need an alternative visa. Please ask at your nearest consulate for information about your relevant pass and how to get it.

Difference Between ETIAS Authorisation and Schengen Visa

The ETIAS is an upcoming travel pass intended for visits up to 90 days during any 180-day period to the 26 European countries that comprise the Schengen Zone. It’s intended for short-term trips for business, medical treatment, tourism or transit.

By ‘visits up to 90 days during any 180-day period’, we mean that, for example, you can’t visit for 90 days, hop to Morocco and back, then visit for another 90 days during the same 180-day period.

You need one if you’re a citizen of a country that was previously exempt from needing a visa to travel to Europe, like the UK, USA, Australia or Canada. You can apply for this pass online, and it’s expected to be a short, easy process.

By comparison, you apply for a Schengen Visa if you’re not eligible for the ETIAS or you’re from outside the EU. This allows for short-term visits up to 90 days for tourism or business. You apply through the country you intend to visit first, and you’re eligible to travel through the entire Schengen Area.

To obtain a Schengen Visa, you have to visit your nearest embassy of the country you want to travel to with a range of supporting documentation. Among other things, this includes a passport with 2 blank pages, and health insurance for the intended duration of your stay.

ETIAS Application Process

Applying for this travel authorisation is short and simple. You need:

• A current email address, where you’ll receive confirmation of your valid pass.
• To enter some personal details, like your name, date of birth and gender.
• Your passport details, like its issue and expiry dates. Also, your passport must have at least 6 months’ validity remaining after your entry date.
• To answer a few health- and security-related questions. This is so that your information can be checked against the EU’s security databases, like Europol, Interpol, SIS and VIS.
• A debit/credit card, like Mastercard for example, or a PayPal account. The ETIAS costs 7 EUR per applicant. You also pay Byevisa’s processing fee to apply for your travel pass for you. This saves you the time and effort of doing so!

All in all, applying takes around 10 minutes. You can do so from any electronic device, whether that’s a PC, tablet or mobile. So you don’t have to worry about travelling to the embassy, filling in any lengthy forms by hand, or waiting in long queues.

Once your ETIAS is approved, it’s electronically linked to your passport. So at the airport check-in, you only have to show your passport to the airline staff or border authorities. However, we recommend that you print a copy just in case. Your authorisation will be valid for 3 years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.

ETIAS Countries and Eligibility

You need this travel pass if you’re a citizen of a country that could previously travel to the Schengen Area without a visa, such as the UK, USA, Australia, Canada or Japan.

Please note that several European countries opted out of the Schengen Agreement, like Ireland, while other new EU members have yet to opt-in, such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. So if you intend to travel to these countries, you need to fulfil their eligibility criteria.