ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System. It is a new visa-waiver system introduced by the European Union to better their management. ETIAS is said to be a more convenient and cheap way for the visitors planning on visiting the continent of Europe. There are many benefits of introducing this new travel regime which we are going to discuss further.
The continent of Europe consists of 44 countries. These 44 countries also include the countries of the Schengen border area which are 26 in number. The countries at the Schengen area follow the same set of rules for their international travel issues and have canceled the need of having a visa at their mutual borders. And this new travel regime will be applied to all of them including the non-Schengen area countries falling in the continent of Europe.
There are two kinds of citizens who do not need a visa to stay in these European countries. First, the EU members and the second remain the non-EU members. There are a total of 62 countries in the world that are non-EU countries that are allowed in the continent of Europe without having to acquire a visa. And the introduction of ETIAS is only going to be applied to the citizens of these countries. Countries like the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada but now they will be needing ETIAS to step a foot in Europe.
The proposal for ETIAS, the new authorization system was introduced in the year 2018 but it will be active from 1st January 2021. Once approved, ETIAS will let you stay in these European Nations for a period of 90 days one at a time. However, the validity of ETIAS will last three years from the date of issue but in case the validity of your passport expires before the ETIAS then your ETIAS would be of no use.
People who belong to the other category and are from countries that are not permitted in Europe without a visa will remain unaffected upon the launch of this new visa-waiver system.
To know the eligibility of applying for ETIAS go on www.etias-europe.us. Here you will get information about the procedure of submitting an application for ETIAS. To apply for ETIAS you must have a passport, after that, you will just have to fill out an application form asking about your basic information. ETIAS are compulsory for all eligible members regardless of age, meaning Minors and old-age people will also have to apply for their own ETIAS.
But for minors and old age people the cost of applying for ETIAS will be free but the remaining people will have to pay a fee of 7 Euros to submit their application form.
The European Travel Information and Authorization system will remain valid only if you are visiting any of the European nations with the purpose of traveling, medical, business or transit. You can not use this new visa-waiver system to stay in Europe for education and jobs purposes.
