ETIAS for australian citizens
Economics and cultural bonds between Australia and Europe have far reaching and ancient roots. It is therefore no wonder that thousands of Australian citizens travel towards Europe every year both for business and tourism purposes.
ETIAS for Australian Citizens: key notes
Australia Nationals will be eligible for ETIAS Visa Waiver starting from 2025
ETIAS candidates must hold a valid Australian passport with a minimum 3 months of remaining validity for the entire stay in ETIAS Area
Electronic application and delivery system
ETIAS to be used for journeys, towards a total of thirty-four countries across Europe, whose purpose is either business, leisure, transit or medical treatment
Duration of stay in the ETIAS Area must never exceed 90 days within 6 months.
ETIAS obligations and standards
Starting from 2025 Australian visitors as well will need to obtain an ETIAS Visa Waiver in order to travel to the EU/Schengen Area.
Australian travelers willing to apply for an ETIAS are to be required to have a passport whose validity can cover for the entire scheduled stay in Europe with an excess of at least 3 months.
Those who hold an Australian temporary or permanent Residence Permit must still check whether their Passport Nationality is among those eligible to apply for an ETIAS Visa Waiver.
No applicant is regarded as eligible to ETIAS Visa Waiver if their passport nationality is not in this list, regardless of the place of origin of the journey and of their country of residence.
Two additional and important eligibility criteria always to be considered for the Visa Waiver are duration and purpose of the trip:
- The first shall always remain below ninety days in six months (considering the Schengen Area in its entirety) even in case of multiple journeys
- The second must always be for either leisure (tourism, family visit, friends visit), business (commerce and trade), medical therapy or transit
To apply for ETIAS
Like for other ETIAS Eligible Countries, Australians must forward their request by filling out a digital form.
The form will require each individual candidate, including minors that should have it compiled by a parent or legal guardian on their behalf, a standard set of information that mainly include:
- Full name and surname
- Date and place of birth
- Birth country
- Passport number
- Passport’s authority and place of issue
- Passport’s issue and expiry date
- Contact details including current address, phone number and valid e-mail address
- Scheduled arrival date in ETIAS Area and first country of intended stay
- Criminal record history (if any)
- Immigration history (if any)
- Public health risks associated to the person
The submission of the application through the electronic payment of the ETIAS taxes will ignite the background control that European authorities and security databases will carry out thoroughly but also swiftly. The outcome of the cross-checking procedure and hence of the ETIAS application is indeed planned to be available, in most cases, in no longer than 3 days and will be sent immediately to each applicant’s e-mail address as reported in the e-form.
Once issued the ETIAS Visa Waiver issued to Australian passport holders is valid for 3 years or until passport expiry date and allows for multiple entries in the EU/Schengen Area.
ETIAS – where to?
It must be remembered that ETIAS is only valid for journeys to the 34 EU Countries that are part of the Schengen Area or its future or de facto Members. There currently is solely 1 EU Member Nation that is not to any legal extent connected to the Schengen Area and that therefore will not be applying the obligation for ETIAS to Visa Waiver Visitors and that country is the Republic of Ireland (EIRE).
The same condition applies to other countries that are geographically located in Europe but that are outside the Schengen Area such as, for instance, Albania, Serbia, Russia and Turkey.
Here travelers can find the complete list of countries that require Australian eligible visitors to have a valid ETIAS.
Border controls and security clearance
ETIAS as a Visa Waiver is a security pre-clearance that European authorities will give to eligible applicants that are not likely to represent a threat to the hosting nations. Obtaining such a pre-clearance will simplify but not eliminate border controls upon arrival in the Schengen Area for Australian short-term visitors. A quick screening and identity check will still be carried out to all incoming visitors and, in some case, a random selection of them can be asked to undergo further controls that might also imply the request for additional documents and, albeit rarely, an interrogation.
On a standard basis the only active land, air and sea borders in the Schengen Area are those that connect the Member Countries to the rest of the world. Therefore, once entered the Schengen Area no further border control is enforced when moving from one member country to the other. Still, it is possible, in some rare situations, for non-European passengers to be asked to assess their legal status in the EU. Hence it is advised that all Visa Waiver travelers always carry with them a printed copy of their Visa Waiver Grant Notice and additional documents that they could be asked such as a return ticket to origin country or any other record to prove the genuine reason for their trip.