New ETIAS and Entry/Exit system will help authorities track length of visitors stays

1.4 billion people from over 60 different countries, including the UK, who currently travel to the 27 Schengen Area countries without having to obtain a short-stay visa, will have to apply and pay for an online travel authorization before any trip to the EU, starting from 1^st November 2023.

The European Union has been working on this travel authorization, which is called the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), since 2016, in a bid to enhance security in Europe by being aware of who’s coming in advance.

Previously, the system was scheduled to become effective in May, but without any announcement, the EU silently postponed the launch of it until November 2023, in the summer of last year.

The ETIAS is a travel authorization that travellers from Schengen visa-free countries, including the UK, will have to apply for starting from November this year. The application will be completed through the ETIAS website, which has not been launched yet, but will be published under the .eu domain before November.

It has been asserted that applying for an ETIAS will take around ten minutes, as travellers will have to upload a picture of their passport and a photo onto the system, and then answer several simple questions.

Just recently, the EU also announced that the Entry/Exit System, which was planned to become effective in May 2023, will also be postponed until the end of the year.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a new automated IT system built by the EU, which will keep a record of third-country travellers, both those who need and do not need visas including the time they spend here, hence it will assist in tracking the 90/180 days.

The move has been announced by the EU agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Fields of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) in a meeting held on January 12th in Tallinn, Estonia, between eu-LISA’s Management Board.

“The planned entry into operation of the EES in May 2023 is considered no longer achievable due to delays from the contractors. The agency is currently preparing a revised timeline that will be presented for approval at the JHA Council in March,” the agency announced.