P.To travel freely in Europe, you will now need there‘ETIAS. This is the European Travel Information and Authorization System, or rather aauthorization for non-European travelers to enter the Schengen areamandatory for all countries that do not already require a visa.
When will ETIAS start
It has been talked about for many years, but now it has become a reality and it will start operating in the month of May 2023. From that date all tourists from non-EU countries for which there is no obligation to apply for a visa, they will have to apply for this new authorization. Experimentation will start by the end of this year.
To travel freely in Europe, you will now need ETIAS
What is it, exactly
ETIAS represents a method for verify the identity of travelers before their departure. This temporary pass will allow the European Union to control entry more carefully and tourists to save the sometimes infinite time at the borderseven if you are perfectly in order.
The countries that the system will allow access to are those of the Schengen area, that is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia. Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland. France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia. Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands. Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
For which countries the ETIAS will be mandatory
The list includes 63 states: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia. Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei. Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador. United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Grenada. Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR Solomon Islands.
Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Macao SAR, North Macedonia. Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Principality of Monaco. Montenegro, Nauru, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia.
Saint Vincent, Samoa, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, USA. Taiwan, East Timor, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela.
How ETIAS works and how to get it
ETIAS – such as the ESTA to go to the United States – it is not a visa, but a simple authorization. This difference is important because to get it, the procedure is much faster. It is enough, in fact, fill out an online forminstead of going to the Consulate of the country you want to visit in person. And it only takes a few minutes to get the green light.
The fully automatic system checks information by querying the databases of European agencies such as Interpol and the International Criminal Police Organization. If everything is fine, the authorization is issued immediately. Instead, the information is sent to the relevant authorities and checked manually.
If the request is not accepted, the reason is naturally written. At that point an appeal can be lodged, or if rejected for simple errors, it can be presented a second time.
The cost of each request is 7 euros, but for children under 18 and for those over 70, it is free. The document is valid for 3 years and in this period of time it allows unlimited admissions to the Schengen area states.
The authorization offers the possibility to remain on European territory for a maximum of 90 consecutive days in any 180 day period: those who need to stay longer will have to apply for a visa.
The European Green Pass has also been extended
Even if now the Green Pass in Italy is practically no longer needed anywhere, apart from offices, hospitals and nursing homes, the Green Pass will still remain necessary for traveling abroad. The duration has been extended from European Parliament until June 2023.
The decision was made to “ensure that the citizens of the Union can benefit from the right to free movement regardless of the evolution of the pandemic “stresses the European Parliament.
For the final go-ahead an agreement with the EU governments will now be needed. Negotiations will kick off immediately to ensure that the rules take effect before the current regime expires on 30 June.
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