NEWS FLASH
The much-delayed European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which will be introduced in a phased approach between October 12 and April 9, will require visa-exempt non-European Union travellers to obtain an online authorisation before entering the EU and pay a fee once every three years prior to entering the block. The European Commission has now proposed increasing the planned fee from the initial seven euros to twenty euros, referencing other travel authorisation schemes (such as the UK’s ETA and US’ ESTA) as benchmarks for pricing. The proposed fee hike has drawn strong criticism from Europe’s aviation, travel and tourism sectors. “The proposed fee increase raises questions about proportionality and fairness at a time when Europe’s tourism sector continues to face the combined pressures of geopolitical instability, high inflation and rising operational costs. Moreover, the industry is concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding the proposed amount and calls for clarity on whether alternative pricing models were assessed. At present, insufficient evidence has been offered to justify that such a fee level is necessary for the operation and maintenance of ETIAS”, travel and tourism sector associations said in a joint statement.
ETIAS is not a visa and is linked to a traveller’s passport. It is valid for up to three years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. If the traveller gets a new passport, they need to get a new ETIAS travel authorisation. It involves filling up a form online and paying the fee after which authorisation should be issued within minutes. The system will also finally enable the EU oversight into how long an individual has stayed in the block, which is currently only possible in most member states by manually calculating the dates displayed on entry and exit stamps in passports. Citizens of visa exempt countries can stay in the EU for a maximum of ninety days within any 180-day period.
Uk citizen here - im not paying that much! I'll start taking trips to the balkans, Turkey, morocco etc instead. It's pure greed and I hope im not the only one who will vote with there feet. Will be interesting to see if this results in more flights to ex-YU
ReplyDeleteWell I as a Cypriot had to pay to get the UK entry permit so why shouldn't you pay as well as a British passport holder?
DeleteUK citizen you should ask your country to not request a similar fee for non UK citizens traveling to Britain.
DeleteThe EU is just responding (late as usual) to what the US and UK started doing first.
Uk citizen - please do avoid us ... worst tourist by far ...
DeleteWell UK ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) for EU citizens costs 16 GBP ~ 18.4 EUR, and it is valid for 2 years. So UK citizens are still getting a better deal than the other way around, cause for 20 EUR ETIAS is valid for three years. Or does Brits think they have some special rights, no one else is entitled to? It's the Brexit consequence, so stop complaining about it.
Delete@10:33 The British government has started these absurd payments to EU citizens. Now the UK will get a retaliatory measure. I was one of those who wrote to the European Commission a few months ago to raise this EU fee to the same price as the UK have. I am positively surprised that the EU is actually considering a big increase from a modest €7. This kind of payment is completely pointless. But the US started it, the UK followed ...
DeleteSo you wrote to them to increase fees and now everyone, including people from ex-Yu will have to pay this inflated fee because you were upset about British fee?
DeleteOur non EU member countries should definitely authorize a similar fee for foreigners visiting us.
DeleteFor UK and US citizens and all the visa issues are imposing to us the fee should be higher.
It is only fair.
@11:10 We should be generous and make a fee 19.99, and make it valid for 4 years.
Delete^ +100
DeleteWell, I had to pay 160 EUR (plus 90 EUR processing fee for the private company in Sarajevo, doing it for BH citizens) for a 6-months visa (and I needed it just for a short 3-day stay in the UK), meaning that major cost for my short stay in London was actually visa cost. So, I sincerely hope that UK citizens are going to be charged much more than today, for all international travels
DeleteThe irony of Balkan people protecting extra EU fees to which they themselves will be subject to....
ReplyDeleteWho is "protecting extra EU fees"?
DeleteI guess it would be somewhat reasonable to implement like 1 euro entry fee to fund border control in this way. But this system is kind of stupid in its design. Like, visa free, but you need to fill not visa application, wait for not visa 30 days, and pay not visa fee of 20 euros. Even if it's ok, it sounds stupid.
ReplyDeleteDid you even read the article? Where does it say you wait for 30 days? I suggest you read the article.
DeleteCheck their website:
DeleteWe strongly advise you to obtain the ETIAS travel authorisation before you buy your tickets and book your hotels. Most applications will be processed within minutes, or at the latest within 96 hours. However, some applicants may be asked to provide additional information or documentation or to participate in an interview with national authorities, which may take up to additional 30 days.
You get the authorization in a matter of minutes, well under 30 minutes. You are probably thinking of the US ESTA which is essentially a visa and does take days to get authorized if you don't have a UK or EU passport.
Delete@Anonymous 11:16
DeleteIf you have an Afghan or a Yemeni passport they better take their time and do a proper vetting.
For 99% of travelers though it is a process that gives you the authorization in a matter of minutes.
Afghan and Yemeni citizens don't need to do this, this is only for visa free countries.
DeleteThey need cash for their non sense politics, thats why they use every possible channel to squezze money out of our pockets
ReplyDeleteAs an EU citizen I support ETIAS! Similar system was implemented by the U.S., Canada, Britain, so why should not we do the same and take money for entering the E.U.?
ReplyDeleteBecause every other country does not do this.
Delete+1
DeleteForgot about Canada, even if you are transiting their airports to go to the US you have to pay for their e-visa.
If our Balkan politicians are smart and have enough balls, they should retaliate. Maybe not with 20€ but let's say 5€ or 10€. You pay in one country and you can travel to the other open balkan countries as well.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping for this, given that the US' ESTA is $21 and valid for only 2 years I would even hike up the price of the ESTA or reduce it to 2 years. At the end of the day why should we EU citizens pay more than Americans or other nationalities?
ReplyDelete