All you need to know about ETIAS

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) is a regulation adopted by the European Council in 2018 that will come into force in 2025. From that date, nationals of the 60 visa-exempt third countries (the list can be found here) will have to apply for a prior authorisation before travelling to 30 European countries (the Schengen Area countries plus Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania).   

It will be a simple procedure, involving a questionnaire to be completed online in just a few minutes. The questionnaire will then be cross-referenced with European databases and information lists, in order to identify travellers posing a problem for the security of the European countries concerned. In addition to this objective of reinforcing the security of our European area, ETIAS will facilitate border controls.

This is a major innovation at European level, but not at international level: the ETIAS system is comparable, for example, to the ESTA system in the United States.   

This travel authorisation application will cost 7 euros, except for people under 18 and over 70. The same ETIAS authorisation can be used for several trips: it will be valid for 3 years or until the passport on the basis of which it was issued expires, whichever comes first.  

Some citizens of the countries and territories concerned will not be required to have an ETIAS authorisation. You can consult the exceptions on this page.     

!! Please note that many unofficial ETIAS websites can be found on the Internet. The only official website where you are guaranteed to find all the correct information on this regulation is this one.  

!! There is also a lot of "fake news" circulating about ETIAS. We have highlighted some of it in this article. In case of doubt, you can also consult the FAQ on the official website.