EU delay plan to charge British tourists fee to enter…

EU delay plan to charge British tourists fee to enter Schengen countries and sets new launch date

The EU has announced a new date for when it plans to start charging British tourists a fee to enter Schengen zone countries.

Previously, the EU's European Commission (EC) told ChronicleLive it was aiming to introduce the ETIAS visa waiver scheme in late 2022 or by May 2023. Now, the EC has updated its ETIAS visa waiver page with a new launch date, November 2023.

From November 2023, if the scheme goes to schedule, tourists travelling on UK passports into the Schengen Zone countries, which include EU nations popular with British tourists like Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Portugal, will be required to pass an ETIAS security check and pay a fee of €7 (roughly £6).

"ETIAS is expected to be operational in November 2023," an update on the EC website states.

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is being introduced for tourists who come from countries that are not in the EU or Schengen area but don't need to apply for visas to enter. Since Brexit, those countries include the UK.

"British nationals, like all travellers coming from visa-exempt countries, will be required to have a valid ETIAS travel authorisation if they travel for a short stay (90 days within a 180 days period). British nationals who wish to stay for a longer period must meet the entry requirements according to national or EU migration law, such as visa or residence permit," the EU's border control information states.

The ETIAS visa-waiver will not be required for travel to the Republic of Ireland, as it is not in the Schengen area.

The EU says: "The ETIAS Regulation applies to all EU Member States with the exception of Ireland. Nevertheless, when travelling to EU Member States that are not yet part of the Schengen Area (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia and Romania) please check the entry requirements for these countries before you travel as they might differ from country to country."

Where British tourists will need to pay for a visa waiver to travel to n EU/Schengen

The Schengen zone includes many EU countries, as well as four non-EU countries. There are EU countries which are not in the Schengen zone but are applying to join, they are included below.

EU Schengen