British tourists will have to apply to enter EU countries and pay a fee before they are allowed in under plans to introduce a visa waiver security check scheme.
As the UK has now left the EU due to Brexit, British tourists planning to visit the Schengen zone - which includes most EU nations in mainland Europe - will have to apply to the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) before they depart, when ETIAS launches in 2023.
The ETIAS security check on visitors to the EU was first proposed in 2016, when the UK was yet to vote to leave the EU, before being confirmed in 2018. The UK cut ties with the EU on December 31, 2021, after an 11-month transitional period.
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While UK passport holders will not need a visa to visit EU Schengen zone countries as tourists, they can be turned away at the border if their ETIAS application is not approved, once the scheme is implemented. In effect, it is similar to the ESTA visa waiver scheme Brits use to travel to the USA.
Applicants will be charged a fee of around £6. The ETIAS scheme is expected to launch in November 2023, the EU said in August 2022.
"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. Non-EU nationals who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area will have to apply for a travel authorisation through the ETIAS system prior to their trip", the EU's ETIAS website states.
What is ETIAS and why will British tourists/UK passport holders need to pay for a visa waiver to go to the EU?
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a security check that non-EU nationals who don't need visas to visit the EU will have to complete before travelling to countries in the Schengen zone, countries applying to join Schengen, and four non-EU states that are in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and thus considered part of the Schengen zone. UK passport holders are among the nationals who will have to use the scheme to travel.
Essentially, UK passport holders who are not nationals or residents of an EU, Schengen or EFTA country will need to pay for and pass an ETIAS check to travel to the Schengen area of mainland Europe, and other countries like Iceland and Norway.
UK passport holders will not require an ETIAS to visit the Republic of Ireland.
The EU says: "After filling in an online application form, the system will conduct checks against EU information systems for borders and security and, in the vast majority of cases, issue a travel authorisation within minutes. The ETIAS travel authorisation will be a mandatory pre-condition for entry to the Schengen area. It will be checked together with the travel documents by the border guards when crossing the EU border."
How will ETIAS work and how long will EU visa waiver application take?
Tourists from the UK travelling to the Schengen free travel area (which also includes the non-EU countries of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein along with 22 EU countries and potentially four that are applying to join Schengen) will have to complete an application form online, either through a computer or a mobile device.
The EU says the form should take around 10 minutes to fill in. Applicants will need a passport or equivalent document to apply.
Around 95% of applicants can expect their ETIAS to be approved in a few minutes. Those who are flagged on the system as a potential risk will face a wait of up to 96 hours, the EU says, before a decision is made. In "exceptional circumstances" an applicant may wait a maximum of four weeks.
How much will an ETIAS visa waiver cost?
A fee must be paid before the ETIAS application is considered. That is expected to be around €7 (roughly £6) and will apply to applicants aged between 18 and 70.
Which countries will UK passport holders need an ETIAS visa waiver for?
British tourists will require an ETIAS visa waiver to visit every country in the Schengen area, including four non-EU countries and four countries applying to join the Schengen area, etiasvisa.com says.
They are:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Romania
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
UK passport holders will not be required to complete an ETIAS form to visit the Republic of Ireland.
What happens if I fail the ETIAS application? Will I be refused entry?
Those whose ETIAS applications are refused have a right to appeal. They could also consider applying for a visa or contacting the embassy of the country they plan to visit.
But if they attempt to travel without an approved ETIAS application or a visa, they will likely be turned away at the border.
What are the reasons an ETIAS visa waiver could be refused?
Potential reasons for an ETIAS application being refused could include a criminal record, posing a security threat, health concerns, or a history of overstaying in the Schengen zone. A criminal record won't automatically mean an application fails, but it can lead to the applicant being considered a risk.
What happens at the EU border?
There will be a record of your ETIAS application linked to your passport. Border guards will be able to tell if you have ETIAS approval or not.
The EU says : "Upon arrival at a Schengen area border crossing point, the border guard will electronically read the travel document data, thereby triggering a query to different databases, including a query to ETIAS in the case of visa-exempt travellers. If there is no valid ETIAS travel authorisation, the border guards will refuse entry and record the traveller and the refusal of entry in the Entry Exit System.
"If there is a valid travel authorisation, the border control process will be conducted and the traveller may be authorised to enter the Schengen area."
When will British tourists need the ETIAS visa waiver to go to the EU Schengen zone?
ETIAS is expected to be in operation by November 2023. Initially, the EU targetted late 2022, then May 2023.
The European Commission stated in an update: "ETIAS is expected to be operational in November 2023."
There could be a grace period when the system is first implemented.
Do I have to apply for an ETIAS visa waiver every time I enter the EU or Schengen zone?
No, a successful ETIAS application will be valid for three years. But it can be rescinded.
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