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You May Need an ETIAS for European Travel in 2024

If you're planning to travel to Europe in 2025, add acquiring an ETIAS travel authorization to your tentative to-do list. The ETIAS is an electronic system that will allow and keep track of visitors to the Schengen Zone. Currently, there is an unofficial date for implementation in May 2024, and the starting date has already been postponed at least twice. Here's what you need to know so far. 

ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System. It will be used to keep track of visitors, including citizens of the United States, from countries who do not need a visa to enter the Schengen Zone, basically the European Union minus Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, and Ireland, and including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The electronic form will take about 10 minutes to fill out and is scheduled to cost 7 euros, roughly 8 dollars. Approval could take minutes, up to two weeks, or even a month depending on any problems spotted in the application. It's valid for three years (or until your passport expires within those three years) and will be checked with your passport at border crossings.

With a valid ETIAS travel authorization, you will be able to enter these European countries as often as you want for short-term stays for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. However, the ETIAS does not guarantee entry.

Perhaps the most important consideration to keep in mind when applications open is this. Your passport should not expire in less than three months and should not be older than 10 years. Another important point is that the information on your application must match the information on your passport.

The application may ask for this information: name, date, and place of birth, sex, nationalities, home address, email address and phone number(s), your parents' first names, passport details, your educational level, current occupation, the country of your first intended stay and the address of your destination. And finally, details about any past criminal convictions, past travels to war or conflict zones, and whether you have recently been the subject of a return decision, that is a decision which states that a foreign national must leave a country.

An ETAIS authorization is issued to one person and is linked to their passport. Other family members are required to have their own ETIAS authorizations. The application form is available in all 24 official EU languages. You will be able to start an application and then complete it later. The draft is slated to be stored for 48 hours and then will be deleted. You can begin the application process once again from the start.

The ETIAS website is robust and has an in-depth selection of frequently asked questions. If you are planning to travel to Europe in 2025, keep in mind that you may need to acquire an ETIAS authorization. At this point, there is a tentative official date in May 2025. While the process itself should not take long, don't let this new travel requirement take you by surprise!