United Kingdom passport holders can continue to travel to the Schengen Area countries without any additional hurdles, at least until the end of 2023, as the European Union has once again postponed the coming into force of the ETIAS travel authorisation.
The ETIAS, which stands for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, is a completely online system which has been initiated in 2016, and will affect travellers from over 60 world countries, including here British nationals, who will have to apply for a travel authorisation through the ETIAS website before travelling to the EU in the future. As informed by a news report in Schengen Visa.
While the requirement was supposed to become effective on November 1, 2023, its seems that the EU has silently postponed it once again, to 2024. The EU Commission’s Migration and Home Affairs website has changed the ETIAS roll out date to 2024.
“It is expected that the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will be operational in 2024,” the website now reads, under a FAQ page regarding ETIAS.
The EU Commission’s Migration and Home Affairs website has also revealed the official ETIAS website, which will be travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en as the official ETIAS website, whereas the official website for the EES will be travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en.
Regarding the ETIAS website, on February 24, the Austrian Ministry of Interior has warned of fraudulent websites that target travellers who will need an ETIAS in the future, by offering ETIAS application services.
The Ministry advices travellers that once the ETIAS becomes effective in 2024, they should apply for their travel authorisations through the official website, and not through intermediaries, though the ETIAS regulation allows the latter.
“The ETIAS Regulation allows commercial intermediaries to apply for ETIAS on behalf of others. However, there is a risk associated with third-party websites,” the Ministry claims in its statement.
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