Change of date after which British tourists must pay to visit EU Schengen countries

British tourists must now pay to visit any of the European countries in the Schengen zone after November 2023.

September 2023 had originally been the date announced by the European Union chiefs in Brussels after which all non-EU citizens would have to pay to enter Schengen countries within the EU. The introduction of the European Travel and Information Scheme (ETIAS) now has a new date.

📢IMPORTANT NEWS!#ETIAS registration will become mandatory in November 2023
Find out all the details here!👇https://t.co/MDb76lc47A

— ETIAS News (@ETIASnews) August 1, 2022

You might already be aware that the news was announced by Brussels on Monday, August 1, in which case, please treat this just as a friendly reminder.

This scheme, which is to be implemented as an additional security and border measure, will now come into operation from November 2023 instead of September 2023. More information on the Schengen area and its countries can be found by clicking here.

As reported by EtiasVisa.com, an EU source confirmed to them that: “According to our current planning, ETIAS is scheduled to go into operation from November 2023”. In an official response given by the European Commission, the revision of the schedule was agreed on by the Ministries of Interior Affairs in July 2022.

According to EtiasVisa.com, the system will be in force at the end of 2023, but ETIAS will not be mandatory immediately. They said that registration in the ETIAS system will not be necessary for at least 6 months from its launch. At that time, the ETIAS application for travel in Europe will be optional.

This means that from November 2023, all non-EU nationals – which includes Brits – could have to apply for the ETIAS visa before they can visit any of the countries in the bloc. A fee of £5.90 (€7) would be charged for this.

The procedure is designed to be straightforward. Anybody requesting the ATIAS will be able to visit an official website where they can fill in the relevant information online and also pay digitally. 

In most instances, the ETIAS visa should be available for download within a few minutes of applying and paying for it online. However, in more complicated cases, it could take as long as 30 days to receive the visa.

An ETIAS visa will be valid for a three-year period. If a traveller’s passport expires during this time then they must reapply and pay again for a new ETIAS with the updated passport details. More exact information on the system, and how it will function, will be released nearer the date according to EtiasVisa.com.

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