The European Union has confirmed that the launch of the new ETIAS travel system for non-EU visitors has been further delayed until spring 2025.
Last month, reports suggested that ETIAS’s implementation was set for a further postponement into 2025 due to continued delays with the introduction of the related Entry-Exit System (EES), which needs to be operational before ETIAS can be implemented.
Now the European Council has endorsed a new timeline for the EU’s roll-out of several major new digital IT projects including ETIAS and EES.
This new schedule would see EES finally being ready to go into operation in autumn 2024 with ETIAS set to follow in spring 2025. Previously ETIAS had been due to be launched in 2024, although originally it had been scheduled to become operational in 2021.
Once introduced, ETIAS will see visitors from outside the EU who currently have visa-waiver status, including travellers from the UK and US, having to apply for an ETIAS authorisation to visit 30 European countries.
ETIAS applicants will pay a €7 fee through an official website or app, and once granted, each ETIAS will be valid for three years or until the expiry date of the travel document. EES will replace the current manual passport stamping regime in the EU with an electronic registration system.