ETIAS - Evropský systém pro cestovní informace a povolení

ETIAS - European Travel Information and Authorisation System 

Citizens of third countries who are exempt from the visa requirement (list of countries HERE) will now have to register in the ETIAS - European Travel Information and Authorisation System when travelling to the Schengen area.

Foreign nationals will register via an online application and await approval before travelling. It is important to stress that this is not a visa application (this will still not be required for nationals of selected third countries, with exceptions) but a form of travel authorisation.

The administrative fee for each application will be EUR 7. The application should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and, unless further investigation is required, the application should be processed within 96 hours. However, the automated system is expected to process the vast majority of applications within minutes. The validity of the travel authorisation will be 3 years (or until the expiry of the travel document).

A similar system has been in place for several years in e.g. the United States (ESTA), Canada (eTA) or New Zealand (NZeTA).

The system was set up by a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council in 2018, and after the relevant legislation and the necessary testing, the launch of the ETIAS is expected in 2023.

The ETIAS aims to strengthen the protection of the EU's external borders and to make the identification of persons travelling to the European Union more efficient. As a result, the system is expected to contribute to the protection of security, public health and reduce illegal migration.

The system will be applied in all Schengen member states as well as in Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus.

In addition to the ETIAS, an Entry/Exit System (EES) is being set up which will electronically record the time and place of entry and exit of third-country nationals authorised to stay for a short period of time in the territory of the Member States and calculate the duration of their authorised stay. The EES will thus be able to detect whether travelling third-country nationals with a short-stay Schengen visa have already reached the number of allowed entries or whether visa-free aliens have overstayed. Carriers transporting third-country nationals will have to ask the EES and ETIAS whether the passenger meets the conditions for entry into the EU. The EES is also expected to be launched in 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact the authors of this article or the EY tax team with whom you regularly work.

Authors:

Jan Lachmann

Eva Babincová