The current status
This is the whole page in one line, so it goes first.
The European Commission states it plainly: ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. The European Union says it will announce the start date several months before launch. Until that announcement, no ETIAS exists, no application can be submitted, and no company can obtain one on your behalf.
You do not need to do anything right now. You cannot apply early, you cannot reserve a place, and you cannot be prepared in any way that helps. If you are flying to Europe this month, your passport is all you need.
The numbers, once it starts
Confirmed by the European Commission, applying from whenever the system opens.
Revised up from the 7 euros originally proposed. Some travellers are exempt from the fee.
Or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. A new passport means a new ETIAS.
The Schengen area plus Cyprus. Ireland is not included and will not require ETIAS.
Up to 90 days in any 180 day period, the same rule that already applies today.
Processing is expected to be quick. The Commission says most applications will be decided within minutes, but that a decision can take up to four days, extend to fourteen days if you are asked for more documents, and up to thirty days if you are invited to an interview. That is why the advice is to apply before booking.
Who is selling it now
Search for ETIAS today and most of the first page is commercial.
travel-europe.europa.euOfficial, EUetias.comNot the governmentetiasvisa.comNot the governmentThese are not government sites and they are not authorised to issue anything, because there is nothing to issue. What they can do is collect your passport details and your card number now, in exchange for a promise to file later.
When ETIAS does launch there will be exactly two official routes: the European Commission's own website and the official ETIAS mobile application. Nothing else.
What you actually need for Europe today
The rules that are in force right now, as opposed to the ones being advertised.
- Carry a passport valid for at least three months beyond your intended departure from the Schengen area.
- Make sure the passport was issued within the previous ten years.
- Count your days. Ninety days in any rolling 180 day period, across all the countries combined.
- Expect to be asked at the border for a return ticket and proof you can support yourself.
- Ignore anything that asks you to buy an ETIAS. It cannot be issued yet.
What goes wrong
Almost every error here is a payment made too early.
- Paying for one now. There is no ETIAS to buy. Money paid today buys a promise to apply on your behalf at some future date, at a price far above the eventual 20 euros.
- Confusing ETIAS with EES. The Entry and Exit System is a separate programme that registers fingerprints and facial images at the border. It is a border process, not an application, and there is nothing to buy for that either.
- Assuming it covers Ireland. Ireland is not one of the 30 countries. It runs its own immigration policy and Americans continue to enter it without advance authorisation.
- Assuming Cyprus counts toward the 90 days. The Commission states that time spent in Cyprus is calculated separately and does not count toward the 90 days you may spend in the other countries.
What changed
The launch has moved repeatedly, and the price moved with it.
The ETIAS regulation is adopted, with a proposed fee of 7 euros.
The European Commission confirms the fee will be 20 euros, not 7, citing inflation and the system's full scope.
The Commission's own page still reads: not in operation, no applications collected.