Since Brexit, UK citizens have not needed a visa to visit any EU member states and passengers have just been using their British passport.
But from the end of 2022, UK travellers will need an ETIAS visa waiver to enter EU countries.
Everyone visiting countries in the Schengen zone must apply for the document when the scheme is introduced.
The European Commission has confirmed that its Travel Information and Authorisation System will apply to UK visitors.
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 authorisation before travelling.
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 set-up of ETIAS forms part of the EU’s ongoing work to put in place a state-of-the-art external border management system and making sure that information systems work together in an intelligent and targeted way.
“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,” the Commission clarifies.
Visa-exempt non-EU nationals will only need a few minutes to fill in an online application which in a vast majority of cases (expected to be over 95 per cent) will result in automatic approval.
The process is claimed to be simple, fast and affordable: the ETIAS authorisation will cost €7, which will be a one-off fee, and will be valid for 3 years and for multiple entries.
But, British passport holders could be turned away at borders if their ETIAS application is not approved, once the scheme is implemented. And there are a number of reasons people could see their application denied.
According to Schengen Visa Info, applications may be turned down on the following grounds:
The person applying has used a travel document that is reported as lost, stolen, misappropriated or invalidated in the Schengen Information System – SIS II.
The applicant poses a security risk for the citizens and travellers of the Schengen Area.
The applicant poses an illegal immigration risk.
The applicant poses a high epidemic risk.
An applicant is a person for whom there is an existing alert in SIS for the purpose of refusing entry and stay.
The applicant fails to reply to a request for extra information or documentation within the deadline given.
The applicant fails to attend an extra interview when required.
A travel authorisation can also be rejected in cases where there are reasonable and serious doubts about the authenticity of the information given and the supporting documents submitted by the person applying.
The ETIAS plan was originally shelved in 2016, before the UK voted to leave the EU.
It is being brought in, in part, to avoid the need for more complex visas - though travellers who need visas to enter the EU will still require them.
There will also be questions on a person’s criminal record and if they have ever been asked to leave an EU country by officials.
Airlines will be expected to check that a person has been authorised to travel to the EU under the ETIAS scheme.
Once accepted, it will allow British passengers entry into the Schengen area multiple times over a three-year period.
The scheme is expected to cover 60 countries, including the UK, Australia and the US.
“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,” the proposal says.
14 comments
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You may have a different view from inside the British bubble of hubris, but in a global view, Britain isn't important enough to the EU or the rest of the world to be "spiteful". You may not be aware of it, but it isn't only Brits that this applies to, and the EU isn't the only place that charges for this. Although it's understandable that you might believe only Britain matters. To you, anyway. Especially now that Britain is becoming increasingly isolated and chaotic, you need to believe they're all "out to get you". Because it makes you feel important. But rest assured, to everybody else, you're hardly a blip on the radar. C'est la Vie.
It's a load of nonsense, just EU spite. There are so many countries in the world where there is an automatic visa ( no charge ) for a stay of 3 months on entry with a British passport.
Alan RobertsonWhy on earth would a British tourist holidaying in Turkey be reading, let alone commenting in a Mallorcan newspaper? Unless of course you are a Spanish resident, in which case it does not apply to you
As Sara says scaremongering so another form to fill in we have had locator forms vaccination certificates to show and we done it Obviously the journalist have a quiet day
@harry The US raised the ESTA fee to $21 this year. The ETIAS fee is 7€ and lasts 3 years. So, if 7€ ETIAS is going to halt British tourism to Europe, with all the implied economic consequences for Europeans, then think what a $21 ESTA fee will do to the US. This is one of the most laughable fury and outrage stories I've read lately. This and the driving licence nonsense.
Morgan WilliamsI've been traveling to the States for decades and have never paid to enter, other than the $14 ESTA which lasts 2 years. What fee are you on about??
Alan RobertsonTurkey is such democratic country with the despot Erdogan, but hey it's cheap so who cares, I guess that's ok
Well, the USA charges $21, which is roughly 3 x the price of Europe. No doubt the US will be impoverished without British tourists, who can't afford 7€ let alone $21.
Wonder if eu enforce this in the east and south . Reading that list most wandering around Calais would not meet those requirements. Fellow Brits it’s worth the 6 quid if it stops that problem. But honestly I don’t think it will.
That's why iam in Turkey now,they don't want tourists folk will vote with there feet.