British Travellers Will Have To Pay €7 To Enter Europe By End Of 2022
Spain News
Published: 04 August 2021 14:27 CET
European Commission officials confirmed on Tuesday that they would be pushing through with the ETIAS visa waiver system which will allow non-EU citizens to enter the Schengen zone visa-free.
The move will see travellers from non-EU countries including the UK having to pay a pre-screening charge of around €7 Euros (£6.20) before they can enter the Schengen zone.
The information will enable the EU to carry out checks against their existing migration, police and security database.
The proposal said, “ETIAS will not change which non-EU countries are subject to a visa requirement and will also not introduce a new visa requirement for nationals of countries that are visa-exempt.
“Visa-exempt non-EU nationals will only need a few minutes to fill in an online application which in a vast majority of cases (expected to be over 95 per cent) will result in automatic approval.”
The ETIAS system, which was first mooted back in 2016, will replicate the US Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), which is already in place and permits citizens from 39 countries to stay in the US for up to 90-days visa-free.
When the system was first proposed, EU Commissioner Sir Julian King said: "Terrorists and criminals don't care much for national borders. The only way to defeat them is by working together effectively. ETIAS will help do that: by spotting problem individuals and stopping them from coming, we'll enhance Europe's internal security."
According to the proposal, passengers may be required to disclose “whether they are subject to any disease with epidemic potential or other infectious or contagious parasitic disease” as defined by the World Health Organisation, suggesting that they may be required to prove that they have been vaccinated against diseases such as Covid.
The new scheme is expected to be up and running by the end of 2022 and is being implemented to remove the requirement for travellers to go through a more complicated visa process.
Those who are granted entry through the ETIAS scheme would be allowed to enter and leave the Schengen area multiple times over a three-year period.
The scheme is expected to cover around 60 countries, including the UK, Australia and the US.
Travellers from countries where a visa is currently required to enter the Schengen zone will need to continue to provide one.
Mandatory travel documents such as a valid passport will still be required.
The UK Government is thought to be considering a similar visa waiver system for non-British nationals entering the country, although this would not be implemented until at least 2024.
However, when the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan was asked by LBC radio this morning whether the UK had similar plans to charge EU nationals to enter the UK she said, “I believe we have no plans to do that.”
Source
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/08/03/british-holidaymakers-will-have-pay-7-enter-europe-eu-plans/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/british-holidaymakers-europe-pay-6-24683612
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/european-travel-information-and-authorisation-system-on-track-for-entry-into-operation-by-end-of-2022-commission-says/
