Guatemala

It must though be highlighted that this obligation will not affect holders of Guatemala passport that are already resident in one of the current Schengen Area Countries or have a valid Schengen Visa.

• Tourism/leisure/family visit
• Commerce and trade
• Transit
• Medical care

These are, as a matter of fact, the only travel purposes suitable for traveling on an ETIAS and, even in such cases, the total stay in the Area will not be unlimited. A maximum stay of 90 days every 6 months is allowed.
Travelers from Guatemala looking to work, study or move to one of the 34 ETIAS destinations will hence not be able to use their Visa Waiver rights since they will have the legal obligation to obtain a Consular Visa prior to the start of their trip.

Also to be noticed is that ETIAS eligibility is linked to the traveler’s nationality of passport and purpose/duration of the journey but not to the point of origin of the voyage itself nor to the mean of transportation used; for this reason, the Visa Waiver is confirmed to be suitable to cross the EU/Schengen Area’s external border not only via air, but also via land and sea. [link- FAQ DO I NEED AN ETIAS?]
Additionally, 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 indeed 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).

Although ETIAS is not fit for long term study programs in the EU, the Visa Waiver can be used by Nationals of Guatemala for short training programs if the stay in the ETIAS countries area will not pass the threshold of 90 days within 6 months. To this extent still it is always important, before submitting one’s candidacy for ETIAS, if the receiving school or institute in Europe accepts to enroll scholars with a Visa Waiver and not with a Schengen Study Visa.

When electronically proceeding with their application all travelers form Guatemala are required to input a short set of information.
These mandatory data are divided in four categories:

• personal information
• contact details including a working e-mail address
• scheduled travel to EU related information
• eligibility and background questions including criminal history (if any), potential healthcare risks and migration history (if any)

Once all the data have been correctly filled in the form and double-checked by the applicants themselves the system, in order to send through the official request, will require the electronic payment of the due taxes.
Payment and official submission of the application will subsequently ignite the security cross-checking protocols through which destination countries will establish if the potential visitor could represent a risk in terms of healthcare and/or security.
The security clearance will in most cases be granted in less than three days and allow for the actual ETIAS to be issued.
When the application outcome is available, the response will be sent via e-mail to each individual applicant.

It must always be underlined that holding an ETIAS Visa Waiver itself does not give an absolute certainty that the Guatemala passport holder will be allowed to enter the Schengen Area Borders since the final decision on this aspect is always and only responsibility of the Border Control Enforcement Officers.
Visitors reaching the Schengen Area from Guatemala might always be required to provide further documents and proof to assess the genuine purpose and duration of their trips such as:

• return ticket to origin country or onwards ticket to a non-ETIAS Member Country
• proof of sufficient funds to support their stay in the ETIAS Area
• any other document that could help assessing the genuine purpose of the travel
• travel health insurance (not mandatory but recommended for ETIAS legitimate visitors)

In order to avoid problems while at the EU Border Control it is absolutely recommended that all data inputted in the ETIAS Application form by the candidates from Guatemala are complete, correct and truthful.

EtiasEU will bear no responsibility in case of false or non correct input data.