European Union: ETIAS Expected to Become Fully Effective by May 2023

Source: fragomen.com

Published: 5 May 2022

The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is scheduled to become fully effective by May 2023. The ETIAS travel registration system will require visa-exempt non-EU nationals to pre-register travel for a small fee, similar to the U.S. ESTA system. In addition, the European Commission has reconfirmed that ETIAS will also apply to EU Member States not part of the Schengen Area, specifically Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. This means that visa-exempt third-country nationals traveling to these EU non-Schengen countries will also have to apply for ETIAS ahead of their travel. Ireland is not part of the Schengen Area and is currently not planning to join, therefore ETIAS will not be applicable to visa-exempt nationals traveling to Ireland.