According to multiple media reports, the launch of the European Union’s (EU) European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) has been delayed once again.
It’s not.
As far back as 2018, the EU planned to introduce an electronic visa waiver program that would ensure visitors from select visa-exempt countries could be vetted to ensure they were safe to enter the Schengen member states. At the time, ETIAS was scheduled to be launched on January 1, 2021 and be fully operational by the end of that year, with “full implementation” by 2022.
In Spring of 2020, it was announced that the launch of the ETIAS program would now be delayed until the end of 2022. There would also be a transition period for the first six months. During that time, if you were to enter the European Union, the plan was you’d be told about the online ETIAS form, receive printed information about it, and be encouraged (not required) to fill out the form. The program wouldn’t have been formally required until mid-2023.
In October, 2022, the ETIAS program, which still wasn’t going to go live for another 7 months, was quietly delayed yet again. This time it wasn’t going to happen until November, 2023. Then they delayed it until 2024.
And here it is, 3 months before the year ETIAS is supposed to start, and all of a sudden, a bunch of places are reporting that ETIAS has been delayed again, this time until 2025.
Again, it’s not.
Interestingly, the news was first broken, not by the EU’s official website, https://travel-europe.europa.eu/index_en, but by a private EU-based website/blog, Schengen Visa Info, that’s known for emailing entities that have used the term “ETIAS” or “Schengen Area” (even if the article is 4 years old), telling them they used an incorrect link, and asking to substitute it with a link to their website. #rolleyes
Anyway, the blog said ETIAS’ delay this time is an issue with the launch of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) (EES is EU’s automated IT system that can register travelers each time they cross an EU external border). An EU official allegedly told the website, “We had initially hoped for the EES to become operational by the end of this year or, at the latest, the beginning of the next year. Due to unforeseen delays, it has become evident that this timeline is unattainable. As a result, the implementation of the ETIAS has been rescheduled to May 2025, with the possibility of further postponement.”
Several other online entities, mainly those from the travel sector but also some bona fide news outlets, followed up with the “report”:
- Manchester Evening News
- Business Travel News Europe
- Travel and Leisure Asia
- Thrillist
- Arabian Business
There was just one thing that didn’t make any sense, though. If you want to the European Union’s official site, it still said ETIAS was beginning in 2024.
I purposely waited about a week to see if the EU’s official site was updated to reflect a 2025 start. It wasn’t; it still said “Coming in 2024.”
Well, that’s odd. So I went directly to the horse’s mouth – I wrote the EU:
Hello! I've read several articles in recent days that say ETIAS is going to be delayed until 2025. A private "ETIAS News" website in Europe claimed a few days ago that a EU official allegedly told them, “We had initially hoped for the EES to become operational by the end of this year or, at the latest, the beginning of the next year. Due to unforeseen delays, it has become evident that this timeline is unattainable. As a result, the implementation of the ETIAS has been rescheduled to May 2025, with the possibility of further postponement.” And yet https://travel-europe.europa.eu/index_en has shown no such update. Please, is ETIAS still on schedule to begin in 2024, or is it going to be delayed until 2025?
They replied back 2 days later:
Thank you for contacting the Europe Direct Contact Centre.
We cannot comment on content of non – European Union websites.The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point.
ETIAS is expected to become operational during the year of 2024. The date from which travellers will be able to apply will be published on this website: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/smart-borders/european-travel-information-and-authorisation-system-etias_en
ETIAS is being developed closely with the Entry/Exit System (EES). Concretely, this means that ETIAS relies on data provided by the EES for the identification of risks (such as security, irregular migration or high epidemic risks).
The revised timeline for the entry into operation of the Entry/Exit System is linked to several factors, which include delays in developing the system at the central level by the contractor, but also in Member States when it comes to delays in the preparation for the necessary equipment to use the EES at the border crossing points. eu-LISA, which manages the contract, has already activated relevant penalties and the Commission has repeatedly met with the Consortia to address the concerns.
We expect that the IT system enabling the operation of ETIAS will be available in the course of 2023. The current expected date for ETIAS to be fully operational is 2024. The entry into operation of ETIAS can only take place 5 to 6 months after the entry into operation of the EES. The exact date for the ETIAS go-live will be communicated as soon as it is available.
The Commission will continue working very closely with Member States and EU-LISA to minimise the impact of the unfortunate delays and deliver interoperability under this mandate.
We hope you find this information useful. Please contact us again if you have other questions about the European Union, its activities or institutions.
So there ya go; at this time ETIAS is not delayed again, and is still scheduled to start in 2024. Take that, intrusive, fly-by-night Schengen & ETIAS European blogger (I want to see if I get another email from them, asking me to link to their website LOL).
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is chugging along and is still scheduled to begin in November, 2023. On schedule, I might add. 😉
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6 comments
The President of the United States should personally lobby to get reciprocal free electronic authorizations for Americans into the EU and UK. In return UK and EU visa waiver countries would get their US authorizations free. Don’t forget.
I disagree.
You mean Americans should pay and Europeans and British get theirs free? Or the US charging $21 and the EU charging 7 Euros is ok?
Whatever each country wants to charge to vet people is up to them. The UK and EU both know how much the US charges; their people have been paying it for years to come here. Obviously, that didn’t matter to them. I daresay they also don’t care what any of us think, so it’s a moot point.
See, that is the problem about politicians. They do whatever they want. They rarely do what the voters want, particularly if it conflicts with their own opinion. “Obviously, that didn’t matter to them”, means it didn’t matter to the politicians.
In international relations, reciprocity is the key. The EU could punish Americans and demand visas but they don’t because the major EU countries are visa waived in the US. It’s only the weaker and smaller and poorer countries in Eastern Europe that are part of the EU that need visa to visit the US. So there should be free access on both sides. Why subject travelers to the political equivalent of resort fees?
Just like with so many other things, because they can. I don’t see how an electronic vetting system could cost them a whole lot of money; it’s literally someone putting a person’s name into a computer system and seeing what pops out. But if they can get a few bucks/euros/pounds for the effort, I’m sure they figure, “why not?” I mean, countries are charge just for flying over another country’s airspace. OK, ATC has to do their thing but other than that, why? Because they can. It is what it is. Shrug. YMMV.