The EU postponed until 2024 the mandatory payment of 7 euros for visa-free travel authorization (ETIAS)

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs has changed the final date for the launch of the ETIAS system, which requires travelers from visa-free countries to pay a €7 fee every three years to authorize their travel.

This is reported by “European Truth”.

If back in January on the relevant page on the directorate’s website, the estimated date for the launch of ETIAS was 2023, at least from February 27 it was replaced by 2024.

Back in 2016, the European Union adopted a principled decision to change the procedure for crossing the border of citizens of those countries that have the right to enter the EU without a visa. In 2018, the European Parliament approved the legislationwhich established the parameters of the new system, which was named ETIAS.

However, the system launch dates were 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 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.

The authorization will be paid – it will cost 7 euros – and will be valid for 3 years, during which re-registration for trips is not required. The EU emphasizes that registration is not an analogue of a visa, as it does not require confirmation of the purpose of entry or provision of accompanying documents – confirmation of income, status, etc.

In addition, the application does not require a visit to the visa center, it is done online, and in the vast majority of cases, authorization will be granted automatically, within seconds or minutes. It is about filling out a questionnaire.

The European Commission estimates the time required for the first filling of the questionnaire at 20 minutes.

For more information on how the ETIAS system will work, watch in the video on the EuroPravda channel or read the article we published earlier, after the adoption of the final EU legislative decisions: “New visa-free rules: how Ukrainians will be admitted to the EU from 2022“.