A New Travel Authorization for EU Visitors

ETIAS eligibility depends first and foremost on the nationality of passport of the visitors. As a matter of fact, only citizens of 60 countries are currently allowed to apply for an ETIAS. Check the full list of ETIAS Visa Waiver eligible countries here. 

Albeit being a necessary condition, having nationality of a Visa Waiver country, is not sufficient to be considered eligible to apply and use an ETIAS since there are more conditions of use that are just as important.

In order to understand how ETIAS concretely works it is important to have a basic knowledge of the institutional landscape of the so-called old continent.

It is not uncommon indeed for many persons to confuse or overlap the meaning of the terms Europe, European Union (or EU) and Schengen Area.

These are the correct definitions as far as the ETIAS system is concerned.

• EUROPE. A broad term that simply defines a geographical area and without any official political border. The word Europe therefore refers only to an historic and cultural concept that does not have any actual connection with immigration laws. As a matter of fact, inside the area we commonly define as Europe are both EU Member Countries and non-Member Countries or even Schengen Area Member Countries and non-Schengen Area Member Countries. Furthermore, withing Europe itself we can find all the ETIAS destination countries but also many of the States whose citizens are eligible and required to have an ETIAS.
• EUROPEAN UNION (EU). Political and economic union of 27 countries located in geographical Europe. EU Member Countries share commercial laws and cooperate on political level. Although EU Membership is not necessarily linked to border policies. Also, EU Membership is not inevitably linked to Schengen Area Membership since some EU Countries are for instance not part of the Schengen Area while some non-EU Countries are members of the Schengen Area. Check here the list of all current EU Member Countries.
• SCHENGEN AREA. Area made out of 27 Countries that decided for mutual elimination of cross-country borders. The Schengen Area therefore has no internal borders being enforced between the member Countries but only a global external border for persons coming for non-Schengen Area Nations. Once entered the Schengen Area all persons are free to move across it. There are 4 additional Nations that, despite not being formally part of the Schengen Area, area considered de facto members since they are geographically located inside the Area and since they do not apply any border control to any incoming visitor. Schengen Area is the only political entity that is concretely connected to the ETIAS System. As a consequence, the countries that will, from 2024, enforce such system are not necessarily the countries that belong to EUROPE (see point A) or that belong to EU (see point B) but only the countries that belong to the Schengen Area with an addition of the 3 EU nations of Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus that, despite not yet being part of such Area, are committed to soon join it. For this reason, a Schengen Area Member Country or de facto Member is by definition also a member of the newborn ETIAS Area. Check here the list of all Schengen Area and ETIAS Area Member Countries.

  Not to be mistaken with any of the above terms is the concept of EUROZONE. Such terms indicate indeed the use of a common currency, called Euro, that involves many countries in Europe. EUROZONE does not match with EU or Schengen Area either since many members of both groups decided not to become part of the monetary union but, on the other hand, extends to at least to two European Nations that are both outside EU and Schengen; such Countries are Montenegro and Kosovo.

The primary goal of ETIAS is to create a safer control system to guard over the external borders of the Schengen Area. The Visa Waiver itself is indeed but a security pre-clearance that European institutions will grant to candidates that, according to the background check made through a number of international security databases, do not represent a threat in terms of security (crime, terrorism, trafficking), healthcare or migration.

To this extent the ETIAS application form will ask each traveler a series of questions to evaluate their background and their current intentions.

These questions include:

• Criminal history
• Public health risk factors
• Immigration history to Schengen Area Countries and other countries too
• Employment status

Such a pre-screening will create a benefit not only in terms of security but also in terms of convenience since it will actually allow for faster border control procedure upon arrival in the EU/Schengen Area which ultimately will translate in time saving both for travelers and border officers. Also, the pre-clearance granted by ETIAS will create the conditions for a radical diminishing of cases of individuals being rejected upon arrival.

Eventually ETIAS system is also set to create the groundbreaking to a process that would make Europe in its entirety more secure, both to its visitors and residents, by not allowing the entry of subjects that could pose a threat in terms of criminal or fraudulent activities.

The overall security improvement enhanced by ETIAS is, following the similar experiences in USA and Canada, expected not create any hindrance towards genuine visitors and is actually expected to foster a growth in the number of incoming Visa Waiver visitors. 

It goes without saying that passing the ETIAS security check to obtain the actual visa waiver will by no means imply lifting of border control upon arrival or a lacking possibility for further checks upon arrival in the Schengen Area from abroad.

Like ESTA system implemented in the US, European Union’s ETIAS, as a Visa Waiver, aims towards enhancing the security of EU and its Borders. Through a simple online procedure ETIAS will indeed create a security pre-clearance database and infrastructure that will help pinpoint any potentially dangerous visitor.

The purpose of ETIAS itself is, as a matter of fact, not to create any obstacle towards standards and genuine Visa Waiver visitors; on the other hand, the goal is to facilitate such travelers by making the travel experience safer and swifter precisely by predetermining who could not be currently fit to enter Europe under a Visa Waiver regime.

Once fully operational ETIAS is expected to, among many other conveniences, decrease the number of border rejection cases, reduce the security clearance timings upon arrival in EU/Schengen Area and therefore speed the queuing time in airports and seaports.