A fresh date has been set for the launch of a new charge British holidaymakers will have to pay to enter EU countries. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System will mean anyone heading from the UK to one of the 26 Schengen States will have to apply and pay a fee of €7.
The ETIAS will be a "mandatory pre-condition for entry", the European Commission 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.
In limited cases, where further checks on a traveller are needed, the issuing of the travel authorisation could take up to 30 days. It will be checked together with travel documents by guards when crossing the EU border, and will be valid for three years.
