The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs has changed the cut-off date for the ETIAS system, which requires travelers from visa-free countries to pay a €7 fee every three years to authorize their travel.
It is reported by “European truth“.
If back in January on the corresponding pages on the website of the directorate, the tentative date for the launch of ETIAS was 2023, at least from February 27 it was replaced by 2024.
Back in 2016, the European Union made a fundamental decision to change the procedure for passing through the border of citizens of those states that have the right to visa-free entry into the EU. In 2018 the European Parliament approved legislationwhich set the parameters of the new system, called ETIAS.
However, the launch date of the system was postponed several times, including due to the need for additional funding and technical legislation, which was eventually adopted only in 2021. At that time, Brussels expected that the ETIAS system could be launched from the beginning of 2022, but the dates again and again had to be moved.
The new scheme provides that after the launch and after the transition period, the entry of Ukrainians into the EU with a biometric passport will be possible in case of prior registration (authorization) in the new system.
Authorization will be paid – it will cost 7 euros – and will be valid for 3 years, during which re-registration for travel is not required. The EU emphasizes that registration is not analogous to a visa, since it does not require confirmation of the purpose of entry or the provision of supporting documents – proof of income, status, and the like.
In addition, the application does not require a visit to the visa center, is carried out online, and in the vast majority of cases, authorization will be provided automatically, within seconds or minutes. It is about filling out a questionnaire.
The European Commission estimates the time required to complete the questionnaire for the first time at 20 minutes.
For more information on how the ETIAS system will work, see video on the EuroPravda channel or read in the article that we published earlier, after the adoption of the final legislative decisions of the EU: “New visa-free rules: how Ukrainians will be allowed into the EU from 2022”.
