The European Union (EU) has set back the start of a travel authorisation fee to enter Europe for another year until at least 2024.
According to reports from Travel + Leisure, the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) was initially supposed to be operational in 2021 but had since been delayed until November 2023.
However, the European Union said on it’s website that travellers don’t have to pay the fee until the start of 2024.
“It is expected that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will be operational in 2024,” the Commission wrote on its ETIAS website under the frequently asked questions section.
The organisation said that as a general rule, you will need an ETIAS travel authorisation if you’re not an EU national, you’re a citizen of a country whose nationals are not required to have a visa for short-term stay in the European countries requiring ETIAS and you do not have a residence permit/card/document issued by any of the European countries requiring ETIAS.
When it does go into effect, the €7 fee (R137.35) will apply to foreign visitors who are 18 to 70-years-old. The authorisation will be required to enter all countries of the Schengen area and will be valid for three years, or until the expiration date of someone's travel document.
Travellers will need to apply for the authorisation through an official website or app before their trip.
The ETIAS fee is similar to the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation visa waiver, which the country plans to launch later this year.
That authorisation will require all non-visa foreign visitors, including those from the US, to apply online in advance of coming and is part of the UK’s effort to fully digitise its borders by 2025.
In addition to the ETIAS fee, 28 European countries plan on rolling out a new Entry/Exit System (EES) next year, which would replace passport stamps with a high-tech scanning process.
The EES is a digital platform that will rely on biometric data, like face and fingerprint scans, and will work in conjunction with ETIAS data.
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