By Aaron Hindhaugh • Updated: 27 Sep 2023 • 15:10
EU flag. Credit: candocreative/Shutterstock.com
The European Union has once again, postponed the start date for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).
The date for these to come into force was supposed to be November this year in preparation for the next calendar year, however, the EU decided to push that back until 2024, but that will no longer be the case.
According to the European Union, the ETIAS won’t come into full force until May 2025 at the very earliest, which hints at yet another potentially major delay when that date comes around for many people in Europe.
The ETIAS is a visa waiver for travel within the Schengen zone, and something very similar to the ESTA scheme required for people to gain entry into the United States and once this does come into place, many Brits will be impacted.
Once the ETIAS does finally officially come into play, then Brits and other third-country residents aged between 18 and 70 will have to apply for this permit before visiting any of the 27 member states, adding more travel headaches for Britain.
Having seen large protests against Brexit and the impacts it has had upon Britain as many call for it to be reversed and re-join the EU, this is just yet another kick in the teeth for millions who voted to leave the Union, only to see many promises fall on deaf ears.
before the ETIAS can fully come into play across Europe, there is yet another scheme which must be fully functioning first, which is adding to yet more confusion and headaches for people, and that is the Extry/Exit System that’s supposed to register thrid country holidaymakers whenever they do cross an EU border.
This should allow both systems to work in tangent and make it a smooth process for Brits travelling into the EU, but as of right now, neither are up and running.
An EU official has spoken about the two systems and how they should be able to work together: “Both systems are deeply linked. Though the Entry/Exit can function properly without the ETIAS, it is impossible for the latter to become operational without the EES.”
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