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EUROPEAN UNION

Britons and other non-EU travellers face €7 fee to enter Europe for visits

British nationals as well as all other visa-exempt non-EU citizens will have to get authorisation and pay a €7 fee to enter the Schengen zone when new rules come in to force before the end of 2022, the European commission confirmed on Tuesday.

Published: 3 August 2021 15:47 CEST
Britons and other non-EU travellers face €7 fee to enter Europe for visits
Britons and other non-EU travellers face €7 fee to enter Europe for visits (Photo by STEFANIE LOOS / AFP)

The move is part of the Commission’s plans for a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) – and will affect all visitors coming from visa-exempt countries – like the UK, the US and Canada – who want to travel to EU states like France, Germany, Spain and Italy.  

“Once ETIAS is in place, non-EU citizens travelling to the Schengen area who are exempt from the visa requirement will need to register and obtain an authorisation before travelling,” said the Commission in a press release.

“The system will cross-check travellers against EU information systems for internal security, borders and migration before their trip, helping to identify ahead of time people who may pose a risk to security or health, as well as compliance with migration rules.”

The move is part of the EU’s phasing-in plan for external border management with the ETIAS system aimed at boosting security to prevent crime and terrorism as well control migration.

Travellers affected will have to fill in an online application form which will have to be approved. 

The Commission said on Tuesday the “vast majority of cases (expected to be over 95%) will result in automatic approval”.

“In limited cases, where further checks on the traveller are needed, the issuing of the travel authorisation could take up to 30 days,” the EU Commission says. 

The ETIAS authorisation will be a €7 one-off fee, and will be valid for three years as well as for multiple entries into Schengen states during that time. 

Applicants will be able to apply via an official website and/or app for mobile devices, the Commissions says.

Which countries are affected?

In general, visas are required for entry to EU countries for non-EU nationals. 

But a visa is not needed for visits of up to 90 days in an 180‑day period for nationals of countries for which the European Community has abolished the visa requirement. That includes the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, among others. 

At the moment for instance, British passport holders who do not hold a residence title in an EU country, can enter Europe for short visits and tourist trips without having to pay a fee or organise a visa – although Covid restrictions have made travel a lot trickier. 

The EU Commission said the ETIAS will not change “which non-EU countries are subject to a visa requirement and will also not introduce a new visa requirement for nationals of countries that are visa-exempt”.

When will it happen?

We haven’t got an exact date yet but the EU Commission says it will happen by the end of 2022. 

The date from which travellers will be able to apply will be published on this site.

According to the EU “ETIAS will be a largely automated IT system created to identify security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors travelling to the Schengen States, whilst at the same time facilitate crossing borders for the vast majority of travellers who do not pose such risks.”

Member comments

    2. It’s to “identify security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors”.
      Funny how “high epidemic risks” has now been added in.
      The ETIAS tax-raising data-gathering idea has been in existence, long before Covid. So the excuse du jour, which was formerly “health and safety” and then “security” and now “Covid” for everything, has now been added in.

      So it’s a visa.
      If you want a visa then make it a visa.

    4. When the USA started requiring ESTA approvals for the EU, the EU warned that they would reciprocate. That is ETIAS. The rest of the world is incidental to this.

  3. If UK reciprocates, will that mean those arriving from France by dinghy ( without a pre-visa visa ) can be returned ?

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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