UK tourists to the EU won't have to pay a fee quite yet - but they will have to submit a photograph and fingerprints for a new entry system.
The long-awaited European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) has been delayed again to November 2023 after it was due to start May 2023 - having already been pushed back from late 2022, the Telegraph reported.
Etias is a similar visa waiver system to the ESTA programme in America. It will require UK citizens to apply online for a €7 pass to enter the bloc. The pass lasts three years or until the traveller's passport expires, whichever comes first.
However, the Entry/Exit System (EES) will come into effect in May next year which the European Commission says will replace passport stamps. Tourists could be caught out by the new system that requires registering non-EU visitors' photos and fingerprints.
It will also record the name, travel documents, date, and place of entry and exit. The commission says the EES will cut down on time and provide important data.
"[Stamping] is time consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings and does not allow the detection of overstayers or address cases of loss or destruction of travelling documents," a spokesman told the i paper.
Passport stamping has been a requirement for UK nationals entering and departing the EU since Brexit. Britons are permitted 90 days of visa-free travel in the EU over 180 days.
The Telegraph reports there is some scepticism about the EES' launch date of May 2023. Some believe Etias will have to be enacted before the EES if it is to work properly and operate as a realistic alternative to passport stamping.
A European Commission spokesman said: "The Etias is scheduled to enter into operation as of November 2023." A statement on the bloc's website says EES is expected to be operational at the end of May 2023.
Since Brexit, UK citizens without residency rights in the EU must have their passports stamped when entering and leaving the bloc. Britons have a total of 90 days visa-free travel in the EU over 180 days.
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