The European Union’s repeatedly-postponed plan to require visitors who don’t need a visa to sign up for a £7 ‘travel authorization’ to enter the countries of the EU and the Schengen zone is back on track, the EU says.
Called ETIAS, or European Travel Information and Authorization system, it was originally scheduled to take effect in 2018, but has been postponed several times for administrative reasons, and then because of the Covid pandemic. It will now go into operation on January 1 and be required by the end of the year.
According to the EU “ETIAS will be a largely automated IT system created to identify security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks posed by visa-exempt visitors travelling to the Schengen States, whilst at the same time facilitate crossing borders for the vast majority of travelers who do not pose such risks.”
The system has been widely compared to the U.S.’s ESTA system that requires pre-registration for visitors from countries that are part of the Visa Waiver program.
